How about Always?: Years 1, 2 & 3
by YouAndMeInSweetParisEmison
Summary: A build up to an Emison story, where the Liars attend their first and second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hopefully, I will be writing about each of their years at Hogwarts. WILL include other ships eventually (Spoby, Haleb, Possibly Ezria?)
1. We All Come With Baggage

"Have you got your robes?" Pam Fields eagerly asked eleven year old daughter Emily.

"Yes mum" Emily answered for the 80th time."And your books?"

"Yes mum"

"And you have money for food on the train, don't you?"

"Of course, Mum"

"And you have Pip?"

"Mum, how could I leave behind an entire owl?" Pam pulled her daughter in for a tight hug.

"I'm just worrying about you, dear" she almost sobbed into Emily's head "You're finally going off to Hogwarts." My baby heading off to the greatest school in the world" Emily rolled her eyes and nudged her mum off of her.

"You don't have to worry about me mum, I'll be fine" She insisted, moving closer towards the train when Pam grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Now I was in Ravenclaw" she began to explain "But remember, Emmy, whichever house you get sorted into, your dad and I will be so so proud" Emily couldn't help smile at her mother's words.

"You remember the traits of each house, don't you?" her mother asked. Emily thought hard for a moment.

"Gryffindor for the brave, Hufflepuff for the loyal, Ravenclaw for the intelligent and Slytherin for the ambitious" Pam kissed her on the head.

"Any house will be lucky to have you, sweetheart" she said proudly "Now hurry before the train leaves without you"

"Emily spotted her friend Hanna Marin a little way up ahead saying goodbye to her mum, who was sobbing into her sleeve.

"Bye mum!" Emily gave Pam one last hug before walking to catch up with her friend.

"Bye Emmy!" Her mum wailed back before disappearing out of sight. Hanna spotted Emily and urged for her to come over.

"Nervous?" she asked, when the two had reached the carriage door.

"You bet" Emily replied, hauling all of her luggage onto the train "I think my mum's more nervous than me though" Hanna laughed.

"I hope it's as wonderful as they're making it out to be" she said, joining Emily in the carriage.

"It's better" Emily replied.

The train doors closed abruptly as soon as Hanna had finished carrying the last of her luggage onto the train. Children were waving to their parents out the window and the sobbing parents were returning the waves.

"We better find a carriage" Hanna decided "We don't wanna be the losers that end up having to sit at the front with the driver"

"Good idea"

The two girls began lugging their heavy bags and animals through the train, desperately looking for a carriage. To their disappointment, they found that there was not a single empty one.  
"We could sit in this one" Emily suggested. Through the window she could see that there were two small girls sitting opposite from one another in what looked to be an otherwise empty carriage. Hanna opened the doors and turned the heads of the two girls.

"Hey, mind if we sit here?" she asked in her sweetest voice "Everywhere else is full"

"Sure" replied the tallest of the two girls. Hanna and Emily looked at each other and exchanged a smile before sitting down next to each of the girls.

"Are you first years too?" The smaller girl asked Emily, who had decided to sit beside her. She had pink streaks in her dark brown hair and was wearing a huge grin.

"Yes!" Hanna replied, returning the grin "I'm Hanna, and this is Emily" Emily waved.

"My name's Spencer" the taller girl introduced "Spencer Hastings"And this is Aria" Aria gave the girls a small wave.

"Hastings?" Emily said "I've heard of your family. You're a pureblood, aren't you?" Spencer gave a small sigh.

"That's me" she chuckled "The second of the Hastings children to attend Hogwarts. My sister Melissa's in her 7th year here"

"Why aren't you sitting with her?" Hanna asked. Spencer scoffed.

"She's head girl" she explained "She's up in the prefects carriage or something. First years aren't allowed in the prefects carriage" Spencer looked annoyed at her own words.

"I'm Half Blood" Aria suddenly put in "Dad's a muggle, Mum's a witch. Can get a bit tense around the house" The rest of the girls laughed.

"I'm a Half Blood too" Emily eagerly said "Both my parents are muggleborn"

"I _am_ muggleborn Hanna sighed "But turns out my mum's part of this organization that helps the coverups of wizards to ordinary people, so she's friends with alot of witches and wizards. As you can probably guess, she was absolutely thrilled when I got my letter from Hogwarts"

"The girls had been talking for so long that none of them had noticed the train had started moving. Their parents had disappeared out of sight and their journey to Hogwarts had begun. They had not been talking for very long, but already it felt like they had known each other forever.

"What house are you guys hoping to be in?" Aria asked, digging into a liquorice wand that Spencer had bought for all 4 of the girls using her small fortune.

"I don't mind" Hanna shrugged, munching on a chocolate frog "I don't really know a lot about the houses if I'm honest"

"My whole family's been in Slytherin" Spencer explained "So it's likely that I'll be put there, but you never know"/

"My mum was in Ravenclaw and my dad in Gryffindor" Emily said "So I could go anywhere. I'm hoping for Gryffindor, though" Emily suddenly felt a furry stroke against her leg, and before she knew it an animal had crawled out from under the seat.

"What the hell!" she jumped up onto her seat. Aria laughed.

"That's just my cat, Pookie" she explained, lifting the hairy beast onto her lap and stroking it gently "She's harmless I promise". Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, tell that to Atticus" she mumbled, shooting Aria a dirty look. Hanna and Emily exchanged confused glances.

"Who's Atticus?" Emily asked.

"Her rat" Aria sighed "She's convinced that Pookie's out to get him"

"I'm not convinced, I'm stating facts" she argued "Pookies been hunting for him all day. He got so scared he's curled up in my robes now"

"Speaking of robes..."

All four girls turned their head at once, as none of them had said this. At the door stood a small girl (presumably in first year) with wavy blonde hair. She was leaning up against the windows with a smug look on her face.

"And who asked you?" Spencer spat at the girl, who afterwards gave a quite obviously fake frown.

"Don't be mean Spencey" she pouted "Anyway, I've been told to tell you that we're nearly at Hogwarts, so you should probably be getting changed into your robes.

"Told by who?" Spencer skeptically asked.

"Told by Jason" the girl insisted "I suggest you listen to me, darling. You don't want to end up walking into the great hall in jeans and a t-shirt now do you?" Spencer rolled her eyes.

"You can go now" she growled through her teeth.

"Ciao"

"The blonde girl walked off, leaving Spencer with a look of disgust on her face and the rest of the girls a look of confusion.

"Who in the name of Merlin was that?" Hanna asked, pulling out her robes from her overhead locker.

"And who's Jason?" Emily added.

"That's my cousin Alison" Spencer explained "And Jason's her older brother. He's head boy, opposite Melissa"

"She looks like a right piece of work" Hanna scoffed. Spencer nodded.

"Believe me, she is. And her brother's not that much nicer either" The girls laughed, changing into their robes as they did so.

"Firs' years follow me! Tha's it, come along ya little buggers"

An extremely large man holding a lantern stood near the edge of what appeared to be a lake, beckoning Emily, Hanna, Aria and Spencer to come and join him in whatever he was about to do.

"Woah, look at that guy" Aria nudged Spencer on the arm and pointed towards the man, who had hair and a beared the size of each of the little girls legs. He wore a huge inviting grin on his face, and didn't seem to scare any of the kids.

"I know you!" a small boy with blonde hair shouted up at him once all the first years had gathered around the man "You're Hagrid!" The hairy man looked proud.

"Right you are" he smiled "My name is Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, I'll be takin' yeh to the Great Hall in a moment. Yeh'll be travellin' on these here boats in groups of either threes or fours"

The four girls immediately moved together as if they had all read each others minds.

"Boats?" someone said from among the crowd "Jason never said anything about boats!"

The girls immedietly recognized the voice at once, and all rolled their eyes in unison.

"Yeh'll be Jason Dilaurentis' sister, I take it" Hagrid glared at Alison "Real nice boy, tha' one is"

Alison beamed proudly.

"Dilaurentis?" Emily whispered to Spencer "Aren't they like, crazy pure bloods?" Spencer nodded.

"It'd be a shock if she got sorted into anything but Slytherin" Spencer whispered back "Mad, that lot are. Even more mad than the Hastings and that's saying something or other"

The four girls climbed into a small boat that Hagrid had laid out for them. As if by magic, the boats started moving slowly towards the castle with Hagrid as their leader.

"Wicked!" a boy with dark brown hair shouted to another boy in his boat.

"Trus' me, this is the least wicked Hogwarts has ever been, in literal terms" Hagrid grumbled from the boat's front.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aria questioned.

"Merlin knows" Spencer replied as they edged closer towards the Great Hall. From across the other side of the lake, the girls could see and hear Alison Dilaurentis whispering something to another girl in her boat.

"Isn't he a bit too hairy to be working here?" she giggled. "I know there are supposed to be some magical creatures around here, but I never expected one of them to be rowing us across the lake!"

The other girl laughed greatly, and the four girls again rolled their eyes in unison.

"I hope she's not put in whatever house I'm in" Hanna moaned "Can you imagine having to put up with her day in day out?"

"I can think of nothing worse" Spencer agreed

Finally, the boats came to the other end of the lake and Hagrid started helping the first years out of the tiny boats.

"Now if yeh'd like ter follow me, tha's it" he lead them into the castle. Emily looked around at the walls and lights of the castle. It was the most magical thing she had ever seen. Suddenly, Hagrid came to a stop outside two large doors and stood firmly in front of the first years.

"Now you lot wait righ' here while I go fetch Professor McGonagall" he ordered. All the first years (except Alison) nodded their heads obediently as the large man walked off in the other direction.

"Personally, I'm hoping for Slytherin" Alison Dilaurentis suddenly piped up, ignoring the fact that no one had actually asked. "Although I suppose any house is better than Hufflepuff. I suppose if I get sorted into Hufflepuff then I'll just have to kill myself"A crowd of girls laughed and looked admiringly towards Alison.

"Leave off, Alison" Spencer muttered. Alison walked closer towards Spencer.

"Sorry, what's that Spence?" she mockingly cupped her hand over her ear. "I couldn't hear you over that abnormally large nose of yours" the gang of girls laughed again as Spencer turned bright red.  
"Leave her alone, there's nothing wrong with her nose" Aria protectively stepped in front of Spencer.

"I couldn't agree more"

The first years turned around to find an elderly woman with a tight bun and bottle green robes standing in front of them. She glared at Alison and edged towards the front of the crowd of children.  
"Good evening, first years" she began "My name is Professor McGonagall. Transfiguration teacher, head of Gryffindor House and of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"

The first years gazed up at the Professor in awe.

"As some of you may know" she continued "After these doors open, the sorting ceremony will begin. You will be sorted into one of the following houses-Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw...and Slytherin"

Her eyes flicked towards Alison's as she said 'Slytherin'

"Whichever house you are sorted into, you must value. Your house will become your family, so I expect each of you to treat it like you would a relative of yours"

Spencer and Alison shot hateful looks at each other.

"And if that is all, these doors will now open"

And as if by magic, as soon as the words left her mouth, that is exactly what they did.


	2. Honor Roll To Toilet Roll

The Great Hall was unlike anything that any of the girls had ever seen. They gaped in awe at the floating candles on the cieling, and the casual ghosts flying around the tables. There were four tables, each flooded with different colours and different students in the colours of their house. A row of teachers were lined up at the front eagerly smiling at the first year students. As they walked, the older students shot them welcoming looks until they finally reached the front of the hall.

"Hello and welcome to another year at Hogwarts" Professor McGonagall smiled in a loud voice "As you may expect, the sorting hat has a few words to say before we begin the process of the sorting itself"

A small man suddenly waddled towards the Professor, carrying what looked to be a dusty old hat. She took the hat out of his hands and placed it on a wooden stool.

"What in god's name-" Emily muttered to Hanna, but was shortly interrupted by the hat bursting into song.

 _Every year I write song_

 _to teach you all a thing_

 _or two about Hogwarts History_

 _great rhyming words, I sing_

 _Godric Gryffindor_

 _and Helga Hufflepuff were two_

 _Rowena Ravenclaw_

 _And Salazar Slytherin complete the crew_

 _Every different founder_

 _valued each of their different traits_

 _For each of you young first years_

 _your character sorting awaits_

 _For Godric, the strong wizard he was,_

 _decided to proclaim_

 _that he valued those who showed braveness_

 _Gryffindor, his name_

 _Hufflepuff quite similar,_

 _eager to express her view_

 _announced that she would teach the students_

 _that showed to be loyal, and true_

 _Alas, then came Ravenclaw,_

 _her oh so gentle heart_

 _focused more on wittiness_

 _her students were to be smart_

 _Our final founder, Slytherin,_

 _by far the most ambitious of all_

 _thought that cunning abilities and fierce nature_

 _was most important at our school_

 _So there you have the tale_

 _of our founders, as it may_

 _But what do I know?, for I'm just a hat_

 _at the far end of the day._

"He's getting sloppy with his words" Emily heard an older student say as the Great Hall burst into applause.

"They get shorter every year" another agreed. Emily couldn't understand this. She thought the singing hat was brilliant.

"The sorting ceremony will now begin" McGonagall announced. Emily was confused. A ceremony? The entire school were watching this?

"Marin, Hanna" the Professor read out from a piece of paper.

"Good luck, Han!" Emily whispered to her friend as she nervously walked up and sat on the wooden stool. The singing hat was placed on the small girl's head.

" _Hufflepuff_!" It announced after many moments of thought. There was a great eruption of cheering from the Hufflepuff table and Hanna smiled excitedly as she went to join her house table. However, Alison shot Hanna a dirty look.

"Montgomery, Aria" was next on the Professor's list. Aria hurried up to the front of the crowd and sat on the stool.

" _Ravenclaw_!"

The small girl was eagerly welcomed to the Ravenclaw table.

"Ackard, Sean"

" _Hufflepuff_!"

"Kahn, Noel"

" _Slytherin!_ "

Emily shuddered. There was something about the word 'slytherin' that made her skin crawl. Almost like a snake was hissing around her feet.

"Gottesman, Lucas!"  
" _Ravenclaw!_ "

"Vanderwaal, Mona"

" _Slytherin_!"

"Rivers, Caleb"

" _Gryffindor!"_

By the sounds of it, Gryffindor house were pleased to welcome their newest member. Emily beamed at the Gryffindor table.

"McCullers, Paige"

" _Slytherin_!"

"Fields, Emily"

There it was. Emily gulped and held her breath. Anxiously, she stepped up towards the wooden stool and the sorting hat. Carefully, she sat down and the hat was placed on her head. Wait a minute, was it _talking_?

"Fields, Fields. I've heard your name before. Your father was Gryffindor, was he not?"

" _Yes_ " she thought

"Excellent, excellent. Signs of bravery, but also loyalty...do I also see wit in there? And my my, are you a cunning girl. I suppose it better be..."

" _Gryffindor_!"

Emily Breathed a long sigh of relief. She had got what she had hoped for and that was all that mattered. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that Hanna had not been joining her, but she supposed she would have to make do with it.

"Hastings, Spencer!"

Spencer looked shy as she walked up to the sorting hat. She sat on the stool and the hat was placed on her head. By the looks on her face, the hat was also talking to Spencer and seemed to be making some sort of hard decision as 3 minutes had passed and Spencer still hadn't been sorted into a house.

"Time is of the essence, dear" Professor McGonagall said to the hat.

" _Ravenclaw_!" the hat finally shouted. Spencer looked confused, but happy none the less. She went and sat beside Aria at the Ravenclaw table

"Coogan, Ben"

" _Hufflepuff!_ "

"Santiago, Alex"

" _Slytherin_!"

"Wu, Bridget"

" _Hufflepuff!"_

"Campbell, Andrew"

" _Ravenclaw_!"

And after 'Strauss, Holden' had been sorted into Gryffindor, and 'Marshall, Jenna' into Slytherin, there was only one person left to be sorted.

"Dilaurentis, Alison"

There were murmuring whispers from the Slytherin table. A blonde boy at the very far end, presumably Alison's brother, gave her a huge sly grin and a thumbs up. The hat was placed onto the blonde girls head. She looked impatient as the hat wriggled and squirmed around her head. After much thought, the hat finally came to a conclusion.  
" _Gryffindor_!"

There were gasps from around the room. Hardly anyone clapped. The Slytherin tables all looked completely lost for words.

"What?!" Alison demanded, looking at Professor McGonagall "There must be a mistake, Professor!" she shrugged her shoulders.

"The sorting hat is always right, Miss Dilaurentis" she insisted "Now, if you would please go and join the Gryffindor house"

Alison rolled her eyes and dragged her feet along the hall. Emily couldn't help but stare in shock at her as she came and sat down. The look on her face displayed too many emotions that Emily couldn't quite figure out which one she should be more afraid of.

"Bad luck" Spencer and Aria mouthed from across the Ravenclaw table. Emily shrugged her shoulders, still unable to come to terms with what had just happened.

"And now, let the feast begin!"  
Her mind was soon taken off Alison Dilaurentis when the table in front of her immediately filled up with all different kinds of wonderful foods. Potatoes, chicken, vegetables, fries, and anything else you could ever imagine. It wasn't long before Emily had her plate full of this food and was engaged in conversation with some of the other students at the table.

"I'm a Half Blood" first year boy, Holden Strauss, explained "Dad's a wizard, Mum's a muggle. Entertaining really"  
"Like my friend Aria?" Emily asked him.

"You know Aria?" Holden asked eagerly "Our parents are friends. We basically grew up together, her and me. Nice girl" Emily agreed.

"I'm muggleborn" another first year boy, Caleb Rivers, told them "Been living on the streets for the most of my life. It was only when Hagrid came up to me one day and handed me a strange letter that I even heard about this place. I gotta say, it's way cooler than I ever imagined"

"Yeah, it's quite something" a second year boy, Toby Cavenaugh added "But be careful if you're muggleborn that the Slytherins don't come and eat you alive" Some other second year students chuckled, but Emily was confused.

"Why would they do that?" she asked

"Everyone knows Slytherins hate muggleborns" Toby explained "It's because they're all purebloods, see. Each generation has passed down the idea that everyone that isn't pureblood is scum. It came right from the mouth of Salazar Slytherin himself, you know"

The sound of a fork banging a plate suddenly came about. Emily looked over and realized that Alison hadn't eaten a thing and had her head in her hands. She was facing as far towards the other direction that she possibly could.

"Hey, are you-?" but Emily was shortly cut off by the sound of Professor McGonagle banging her fork against her glass.

"Prefects will now lead you all to your common rooms, and I hope you all have a wonderful evening"

Alison was first to get up from the table. She walked as quickly as she could and stood behind the Gryffindor prefect. Emily couldn't help but watch her.

"Gryffindor first years, this way" the older prefect girl was shouting. "Gryffindors, follow me"

After walking up several flights of moving stairs, the Gryffindors found their way to what looked to be a large painting of a fat woman.

"Liquorice Whip" the prefect girl said to the painting. Emily was confused, but soon realised this must be some sort of password, as the painting of the large woman swung open and revealed a room.

"This is the Gryffindor common room" the prefect explained "You will sleep in your yeargroup dorms, girls up the stairs this way and boys the opposite" she pointed either side of her. Emily gulped, as she realised she was going to be alone in a room with Alison Dilaurentis. Without saying a word, the blonde girl ran up the stairs and off to the dorms, slamming the door behind her.

"She's really in a hurry, isn't she?" the prefect laughed. Emily shrugged awkwardly. "Suppose you better go up there with her".


	3. That's what keeps us close

Emily couldn't sleep. Partly due to the fact that she was so excited for her first day at Hogwarts... but partly because around her dorm the faint sound of sobbing could be heard. This made her panic, as the sobbing could only be that of mean girl Alison Dilaurentis. She contemplated whether to say something to the girl, who's bed was over the other side of the room. Finally, after hearing hours on end of distant crying, Emily sat at.

"A-Alison?" she whispered. As soon as the words left her mouth, the sobbing became quieter. She heard the rustling movement of the girl sitting up in her bed.

"What" she decided to answer back. Emily fiddled with her fingers.

"Are you alright?" she asked, stupidly. Obviously she wasn't alright – the girl had been sobbing for crying out loud. Alison gave a loud sniff.

"What's it to you?" she spat back. Emily was slowly losing the will to try and talk to this girl, as so far she was giving her nothing but grief.

"You've been crying for hours" she explained, turning the light on. Alison covered her eyes with her face as a reaction to the bright light.

"What do you care" she moaned "You don't even know me" she pulled the sheets over her head and laid back down.

"You're in my house" Emily almost laughed "I'm gonna have to know you at some point, you realise" Alison instantly shot back up.

"Well I don't want you to know me, and I don't need you to either" Emily grinded her teeth

"Maybe if you dropped your whole tough act and shut up for more than 30 seconds, then we could have an actual conversation"

Alison looked disgusted at the fact that this strange girl had dared to speak to _her,_ Alison Dilaurentis with that tone of voice. Eventually, she gave in.

"Fine" she mumbled "What does it matter if I'm crying? Everyone cries. Why do you care?"

Emily internally face palmed, but remained patient with this almost unbearable little girl.

" _Because it's blooming loud and I'm trying to get some sleep_ " she thought, but her mouth eventually came up with "Because you sound so sad and I don't like seeing people when they're sad" Alison gave a slight smile, but immediately snapped out of it when she realised what she was doing.

"You were sitting with Spencer on the train" she realised "Next to that short girl with pink hair".

"You mean Aria" Emily said. Alison nodded

"Her hair's a bit funny, don't you think?" she said

"I like it" Emily argued. Alison looked embarassed. An awkward silence sprad across the dorm when eventually, Emily decided to say something more

"Why are you crying?"

It took a moment for them to both realise that she wasn't actually crying anymore, but looked miserable none the less.

"I got sorted into Gryffindor" she explained "I'm in _Gryffindor_ " Emily looked confused. Bravely, she stood up and walked over to Alisons bed, sitting on the end of it.

"What's wrong with Gryffindor?" she asked the blonde girl "I think it's a wonderful house" Alison pulled a grumpy face.

"My whole family" she began "Have been in Slytherin. My brothers in Slytherin. I was _supposed_ to be in Slytherin. Why aren't I?" she restarted her girly crying.

"The sorting hat obviously saw some Gryffindor traits in you" Emily told her "It never makes mistakes, remember?"  
"Well it obviously did" Alison snarled, back to showing her evil face "I was supposed to be in Slytherin with the rest of my family, not in some stupid andy-pandy lion house with the likes of _you_ " The other girl couldn't help feeling hurt by these spiteful words. She wished Alison would just shut up and be normal for a second.

"I'm sure your family will be proud of you whatever house you're in" she told her, remembering her mothers earlier words. Alison scoffed.

"Yeah right" she laughed "Have you met my family?"  
" _No?_ " seemed to be the obvious answer playing on Emily's mind

"Gryffindor isn't all that bad" she decided to say "You might grow to like it, you know"

"I won't" she insisted "God, my mother's gonna absolutely freak when she finds out I'm in some sort of muggleborn loving house"

"Why do you care so much what your mother thinks?" Emily asked, a tone of confusion in her voice "It's not like she's here right now"

"She's on the school board" Alison told her "She finds out everything. She's gonna send me howler, oh dear _god._ Emily, what am I gonna do?"

" _She remembers my name_ " Emily thought. Then, with much harder thought asked herself " _What? Why do I care that she remembers my name?_ "

"Don't cry, please" Emily almost pleaded as Alison burst into tears for the 100th time tonight "It'll be okay, I promise" Alison looked up at her, wiping a few tears.

"Why are you being so nice to me" she asked "I was so mean earlier..."  
"You're in my house now" Emily cut her off "That means you're my family, and family stick together" Alison smiled, but once again snapped herself out of it.

"That's such a cheesy thing to say" she complained "God, is everyone in this stupid house so fluffy and cheesy?"  
"They say that Gryffindor values the brave at heart" Emily quoted straight from her mother. Alison rolled her eyes.

"I'm not brave" Alison's voice came in a low whisper "Why would the hat put me in here when I have none of the Gryffindor traits?"  
"Maybe you don't yet" Emily decided "But that hat knows all, remember? He sees the past and future" Alison looked puzzled at this.

"How can a dusty old hat do all that?" she laughed. Emily laughed along with her. As both girls laughed, Emily realised how pretty and fair this girls face was. That she wasn't some scary mean bitch like she had made herself out to be.

"I have no idea" she eventually replied. The girls laughter died down and Alison looked sad again.

"My mother's gonna be so mad" she said "I sent Estelle out with a letter for her as we got off the train saying how excited I was that I was gonna be in Slytherin house, and now I'm not even there"

Emily felt a little sorry for her, but suddenly realised her words.

"Who's Estelle?" she questioned. Alison had a look of sincerity on her face.

"My owl" she explained "Funny name, I know. But the thing is, I just _love_ this book called Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and Estelle is one of the main characters in it. Have you read it?" Emily's face almost lit up.

"I love that book!" she said excitedly "I've read it every summer ever since I first learnt to read. A-and my owl's called Pip" Alison's face turned from a sad frown into a smile.

"It's such a great love story" she said "Of course, if my mother ever found out I had been reading a muggle book.."  
"What's wrong with muggle books?" Emily asked "They're just like normal books, but without moving pictures aren't they?" Alison nodded

"They are" she said "But you heard what that freakish 2nd year boy said. Purebloods think anything to do with muggles are scum" Emily watched her happy expression turn into a sad one...but then back in to a sort of angry one.

"Anyway, Fields, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

" _She remembers my second name too_?" Emily thought. A strange sort of fluttering came about in her stomach " _And now she's calling me by it?"_

"Y-yeah" Emily said, climbing off the end of Alisons bed "Alison?"  
"What?" the girl snarled backd. Great. She was back to this.

"I know you're having trouble sleeping right now" she reached for her bag and pulled something soft out of it "This is my cuddly dragon, Winkie. You can have him to help you sleep if you want" she threw the toy to the other girls bed, who immediately shot it a look of disgust.

"As if" she said "I don't need a stupid kids toy to help me sleep, thank you very much" Emily shrugged

"Suit yourself" she said, lying down on her bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey Fields?" she heard after a while from across the other side of the room.

"Yes, Dilaurentis?" " _God, that's a mouthful_ "

"Thanks"

She didn't have to say anything more. Emily knew exactly what she was talking about.

"No problem" she said, switching off the light.

Emily woke up before Alison that morning, and as she walked past her bed she noticed something. The blonde girl was snuggled up in her Gryffindor blankes, tightly cuddling what looked to be Winkie the dragon. Emily smiled.


	4. Girls fight much dirtier than boys

**Note: There are other characters besides the ones I mentioned in the sorting ceremony, but it would have taken forever to write them all down and have them all sorted.**

"Morning Em!" Hanna Marin, Emily's Hufflepuff friend came running over to the Gryffindor table during breakfast in the great hall. "Excited for our first day?" Emily smiled.

"Of course!" she replied "Hey, let's see if we have any classes together" Hanna and Emily both pulled out their timetables, which they had found sitting on their bedside tables when they woke up. Emily's read-

 _Period 1- Charms_

 _Period 2 – Potions_

 _Lunch_

 _Period 3 – Defence Against the Dark Arts_

 _Period 4- Charms_

"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts together after lunch" Hanna realised excitedly. Emily smiled up at her friend.

"Have you seen those Spencer and Aria girls at all?" she asked. Hanna shook her head.

"Not yet" she explained "But I have Potions with them 4th period"

Emily's attention was quickly turned off of Hanna and onto someone else. At the entrence of the great hall, Alison Dilaurentis stood dressed in Gryffindor robes, looking like she had only just got out of bed.

"I forgot to ask" Hanna said in a hushed voice "How was night 1 was the princess from hell" Emily tried to laugh, but stopped herself as Alison was walking over quickly. Hanna scurried away back to the Hufflepuff table.

"Morning" Emily greeted, trying to be friendly as she still was not sure whether last night had even happened. Alison didn't say anything back, but instead gave a slight grunt "Hungry?"  
"I shouldn't eat" Alison sighed, sitting down next to Emily "What's that?"  
"Oh, that's my timetable. Here, I have yours too" she pulled another piece of parchment out from the inside of her robes.

"Thanks" the blonde girl managed to say, studying her timetable "Are we in all classes together?"

"I'm afraid so"

The expression on Alisons face was neither a happy nor sad one, rather one of 'oh'.

"You're a bit late you know" Emily told her "We should really be heading to charms now". Alison rolled her eyes and picked herself up again.

"Great" she scoffed "Come on then. I'll show you where it is – I know this castle inside out"

Emily wasn't sure what on earth that meant, but trusted Alison that she knew where she was going.

"Good morning, Good morning! My name is Professor Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw house and your charms teacher!" a tiny man at the front of the classroom began to explain. Alison snorted.

"What's so funny?" Emily whispered to her. The blonde girl turned to face her with a smug look on her face.

"Look how _tiny_ he is" she giggled "How can a man that little man teach anything other than how to cook Snow White breakfast" Emily couldn't help but laugh at her joke.

"Isn't that a muggle book?" she realised. Alison turned a shade of red and whipped her head back round to the front of the class.

"What you must know about charms" Professor Flitwick continued "Is that it's all above how your wrist moves the wand. Can anybody here tell me what the function of the charm ' _Wingardium_ _Leviosa_ ' might be?" The class was silent. Emily looked around, but not a single hand was raised.

"To levitate" someone said "To lift off the ground" Flitwick looked thrilled.

"Excellent, 10 points to Gryffindor" he awarded "But, Miss Dilaurentis, please would you raise your hand next time you have the answer to a question?"

" _Alison said that_?" Emily thought. Sure enough, when she looked over at Alison the girl was mid-way through rolling her eyes at Flitwick's words.

"How did you know that?" Emily hissed to her.

"Shut up, Fields" Alison replied "It's basic knowledge"

" _Not for a first year_ "

"Now, to sucessful perform the charm we must swish our hands and flick out wrist. Swish, and flick. Everybody do it with me!"

As she swished and flicked, the rest of the Gryffindor first years copied him with their own wands.

"Now I want you to repeat after me" he said " _Wingardium Leviosa_ "

Murmers from around the classroom could be heard as the first years tried desperately to get their charm right. Emily held her want steady in her hand and aimed it at the feather in front of her.

" _Wingardium Leviosa, Wingardium Levi_ -"

"You're doing it wrong" interrupted Alison. Emily raised her eyebrows

"Oh really?" Emily spat "What am I doing wrong then, if you're so clever"

"You're not swishing enough. Here"

The blonde girl put her hand over Emily's and her breath hitched slightly.

" _What was that_?" she thought. Slowly, Alison guided Emily's hand with the perfect swishing and flicking motion.

"There" she said after they had practised a few times "Now try saying it". Emily focused hard on how Alison taught her, pointed her wand at the feather and said-

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

Sure enough, the feather started levitating at a steady pace. Alison sat back in her chair, admiring her handywork. Emily beamed at the rising feather and soon, the whole class had turned their head to watch her success.

"Excellent, excellent!" Flitwick clapped his hands together "Now see here, everyone. Miss Fields has done it!"  
" _Miss Dilaurentis has done it_ " Emily thought.

The next class was potions, and something in Emily's gut told her she should be dreading it. Alison had run off after charms, so she had no idea where she was going.

"E-excuse me" a small voice came from behind her "Hello? Excuse m-"  
Emily turned around to find a girl with mousy brown hair and green robes carrying a bundle of books.

"Yes?" she said

"Do you have potions with Professor Slughorn next?" she asked. Emily nodded

"I don't know how to get there though" she added to her nod. The girl smiled.

"It's this way, I can show you. I'm Paige by the way" she told her, leading the way to what seemed to be some grotty old dungeon.

"Emily" Emily said back, forcing a smile. The girl had some sort of sick aura around her.

" _Probably because she's a Slytherin_ " Emily told herself, following the girl. Sure enough, they soon arrived at a dungeon room stacked with bottles and potions of all sorts. The rest of the class had already arrived and at the front of the room stood an elderly man in brown robes and a huge smile on his face.

"Come in, come in!" he greeted "My name is Professor Horace Slughorn. Welcome to your first potions lesson"

The room seemed extremely dull. Paige went and sat down next to a tall boy with dark hair, which only left one seat.

Next to Alison.

"Hope you don't mind me sitting here" Emily said as she sat down next to the girl. She looked grumpy and had her arms folded.

"Whatever" she huffed back. Emily rolled her eyes.  
The boy with dark hair that Paige had set next to turned around and grinned at Alison. His eyes were piercing and Emily couldn't help being a little afraid of them

"This your little Gryffindor friend?" he jeered at Alison "Your little muggleborn buddy?" A boy sitting two tables across laughed as the dark haired boy spoke.

"Shut up, Kahn" Alison hissed, hardly looking up.

"I'm a half blood, actually" Emily decided to say, but soon after thought " _Why the hell did I say_ _that_?" The Kahn boy laughed and a few kids around him joined in.

"My bad, my bad" he mock apoligised.

Nobody had been listening to a single thing Professor Slughorn had said and by the looks of this, Slughorn seemed to be quite oblivious to the fact that he was being ignored.

"The name's Noel, by the way" the boy introduced himself to Emily "Noel Kahn". Emily scoffed.

"I'd say it's a pleasure, but I would be lying"

The boys that had been laughing at Noel's jokes all gave an 'ooooooooooo' in unison. Alison shifted a smirk. Noel joined her.

"You're that Fields girl, right?" he asked "Wayne Fields the Auror's daughter?" Emily nodded, not too sure how he knew her father or why this was relevent information. Obviously having nothing left to say, he turned his head to Alison.

"I honestly can't say I'm surprised that you wounded up in Gryffindor" Kahn said to her "Your whole family's so pathetic it wasn't gonna be long before the weakest member disappointed -"  
"Don't talk to her like that!"

Emily surprised herself at her own voice. The words had come out of her mouth so quickly that she wasn't even sure she was saying them. In fact, she didn't say them. She shouted them.

"Is everything alright?" Slughorn had finally realised that his students weren't paying attention.

"Everything's fine, Professor Slughorn" Noel smiled at him, a little in shock " Slughorn looked skeptical.

"Anyway, as I was saying..."  
"See, that's the problem with stuck up bitches like you Alison" Noel whispered, turning around "You never know what sort of scum they'll end up with-"  
Emily wasn't sure what made her do it. She wasn't even sure if she was doing it, or what she was doing. But before she could catch up with her thoughts, Noel Kahn had been knocked off his desk with a bloody nose and a black eye.

"MISS FIELDS!"

The whole class froze, and so did Emily. She stood there and looked at Noel, who was clutching his nose in agony. Alison quickly stood up.

"It's wasn't her fault, Professor, Noel was just-"  
"THAT'LL BE ALL, MISS DILAURENTIS. BOTH OF YOU, REPORT TO THE HEAD'S OFFICE. NOW!"

Alison glared at Emily with a hateful look on her face.

" _She tried to defend me?"_ Emily thought " _Why?"_

Alison picked up her bags and stormed out the dungeon room. Emily met her outside, also carrying her things.

"What the hell was that?" Alison demanded, looking furious.

"He was being so mean to you!" Emily insisted "And to me, and-" The blonde girl stormed further up the stairs.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Fields" she spat "I don't need you defending me. You don't even _know_ me, or _him_ or _anything!"_

It was true, Emily realised. She didn't know her, or him, or anything at all. It was only her first day at Hogwarts, and already she was in bigger trouble than she ever thought she would be in. She didn't even know what made her do it. She was so sure she was gonna be expelled already. Realising she didn't even know where Professor McGonagall's office was, she ran to catch up with Alison.

"Well you obviously can't fight your own" she told her. Alison turned around, not realising she had been there.

"You don't know" she began "Anything about me. Stop being this big hero already. Stop being this, this _killer_ "

They arrived at Professor McGonagall's office. Emily caught her breath, looking at the girl next to her. Surely, this would be the end of her time at Hogwarts.


	5. Said the girl with poor judgement

**I know this is a short one, but I ran out of ideas**

Professor McGonagall was sat peacefully at her office chair admiring this weeks copy of ' _Witch Weekly_ '. All had been peaceful for the Headmistress, when suddenly there was a knocking on her door.  
"Enter" she said with a sigh, putting down her magazine. Two first year students crept through the door. She recognised them at once as Emily Fields and Alison Dilaurentis.

"Please don't expel me, Professor" Emily pleaded. Professor McGonagall looked taken aback.

"Expel you, Miss Fields?" she asked "Whatever for?" Alison rolled her eyes.

"She punched Noel Kahn" she told her. Emily looked at the blonde girl in an instant, cutting her eyes.

"I beg your pardon, Miss Dilaurentis?" The Professor gave a skeptical look. Emily's heartrate increased rapidly, as she was sure this was the end.

"He was saying mean things, Professor" she said as quickly as she could "About me, and about Alison, and her family..."  
"I can handle things being said about me, Fields" Alison spat at the girl. Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"And what exactly are you here for, may I ask Miss Dilaurentis?"

"I defended her"

McGonagall gave a sigh and pointed to the door.

"That'll be all from you, Miss Dilaurentis" she said "You are excused"

Alison headed out the office door without even looking back. Emily watched her, and couldn't help feeling a twang of hatred. Well, a twang of _something_. The elderly woman turned back at Emily, giving a surprised look.

"You say this Kahn boy was behaving inappropriately?" she asked her. Emily nodded.

"He was being mean to me and Alison, Ma'am" she insisted "I didn't mean to really, but I just-"  
"All is alright, Miss Fields"

Emily stared briefly at the Headmistress. She held a kind look in her eye, that gave her the feeling of safety.

"You're not expelling me?" the girl asked "Or calling my parents, or..."  
"I hardly think it would be fair to expel you on your first day here, Emily" the Headmistress replied "And as for your parents, I doubt they would be able to do much about the situation in itself. Now, usually I would deduct housepoints for behavior such as this but seeing as there are barely enough housepoints for them to be visible in the hourglass, I may have to let you off this time"  
Emily stared in disbelief at her. She was being let off punching someone?

"Thank you Professor" she smiled. The woman nodded her head.

"You best be getting off now" she said, pointing to the door "You may be excused"  
Emily turned towards the door with a feeling of relief that she had not been in any serious trouble.

"Oh and, Miss Fields?" McGonagall called after her "Try not to get yourself into any more trouble this year. Gryffindor haven't won the house cup since 1994"

"You punched him?" Aria asked "You actually punched him?"

Emily nodded with slight pride, and slight embarassment. She had met up with Hanna and the two girls they had met up on the train, Spencer and Aria, outside for their lunch break. "Awesome!"

"Personally, I don't think it's very funny" Spencer told her "Emily could've been in alot of trouble and-"  
"Yeah but she wasn't" Aria argued "And by the sounds of things, that boy deserved it" The girls laughed.

"I can't believe that Alison girl didn't thank you" Hanna shook her head in disbelief "She's such a-"  
"She's not _that_ bad" Emily interrupted, remembering last night when the two girls had spoken. No further conversation was held, as in that moment a small blonde boy walked up to the tree under which the girls were sitting. Emily recognised him as the boy that had been the first to speak to Hagrid before they got on the boats last night.

"Hey Hanna"  
Hanna immediately sat up and turned to look at the boy. Emily noticed that before hand, she had been fixing her hair and trying to look as skinny as possible.

"H-hey Sean" she stammered back. The boy looked nervous.

"Do you still need help with that charm we were practising first period?" Hanna nodded quickly.

"Yeah, that'd be great" she said, smiling back at him.

"Cool!" he said instantly "I can help you in the library at the end of the day i-if you want"  
"Sounds great!" Hanna replied, almost as quickly as he had.

"Cool"  
Sean walked off, holding his books still. The rest of the girls turned to look at Hanna.

"What?" she said, innocently "He's cute, right?"  
"He's eleven" Spencer said

"Ok, we're all eleven" Hanna argued. The other three girls rolled their eyes in unison.

"You know, I could help you with that charm if you want" Aria offered. Hanna laughed, picking up her wand. She aimed directly at the pencil spencer was writing with and uttered the words-

" _Wingardium Leviosa_ "

Sure enough, the pencil floated out of Spencer's hand and high up into the trees. Hanna stopped the spell and caught the pencil with her other hand, looking pleased with herself.

"You're unbelievable" Emily laughed. The rest of the girls joined in.


	6. If flying was a crime,wed all be in jail

**Disclaimer: I know quite a few of the things in here are similar to the original Harry Potter books. Credit to JKR for making the storyline so good that it could fit in with any character :)**

The next few days were exciting for the first years. They had their first lessons of most subjects, and were learning their way around the castle. They had found that the moving stairs, however, had made that quite a task as they were constantly moving around and changing position. Peeves, the school's infamous poltergeist had made sure the first years had a warm welcome by throwing stink bombs at their feet wherever they went and scaring them round corners. Emily, Hanna, Aria and Spencer had been hanging around each other during breaks and at the end of the school day, and were already becoming quite close friends.

The next week brought on the lesson that all the girls, especially Emily, had been looking forward to the most. The first years were to have their first flying lesson. Emily had ridden a toy broom when she was younger, but never had her mum and let allowed her to own, let alone ride a proper broom. After breakfast, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw first years headed out to the front lawn, where 20 broomsticks had been laid down in two rows. In the middle of them stood an elderly looking woman with silver hair and piercing yellow eyes.

"Quick quick, chop chop!" she said, blowing her whistle "Find a broom and stand beside it, quickly!"  
Aria, Spencer and Emily all hurried off to three brooms in the middle of the row. Alison Dilaurentis reluctantly followed them and stood beside Emily.

"Hey" Emily whispered to her. Alison looked at her with a slight shock on her face that she had actually spoke. The blonde girl had not spoken to many people so far during her time a Hogwarts, as she was refusing to make talk with anyone in her house and her friends in Slytherin didn't want to know her anymore. Somewhere, Emily felt a little sorry for her.

"Hey" she smiled back, quickly darting her eyes away.

"My name is Madame Hooch" the woman said quickly, interrupting everyones conversations and averting all attention to her "Your flying teacher and head of the PE department. Which, of course, consists only of Quidditch"

Emily loved Quidditch. Her favourite team were the Holyhead Harpies. She had magical posters of them all around her room, not to mention countless amounts of sponsered accessories. Her and her dad always went to see games they played, no matter where they were on at. Her favourite member, Ginny Potter, had also been in Gryffindor and was on the Quidditch team in her day.

"Now first of all" Madam Hooch told them "I want you to raise your hand over the broom. You will then say the word 'up', and if you say it properly then sure enough the broom with come to you"

There came a huge murmering of the word 'up' around the courtyard. Spencer and Emily had gotten their brooms up on their first try, and looked at each other with big smiles on their faces.

"Up!" Aria was demanding. Her broom was merely rolling around the ground, not looking as if it was ever going to get anywhere higher "For gods sake, up!"  
"You're saying it wrong" Spencer told her "Don't _ask_ it, _command it_. Like this. Up!"  
Aria's broom instantly flew into Spencer's hand. Spencer, looking very pleased with herself, handed Aria her broom.

"Show off" Aria muttered under her breath. This wasn't a lie.

Emily looked over at Alison, who seemed to have got her broom up quite quickly too. She was tempted to go over and say something to her, but stopped herself when she realised that Spencer would probably give her dirty looks for associating with her so called evil cousin.

"Now the next step" Madam Hooch continued, once she saw that everyone had managed to pick up their brooms successfully "Is to get yourselves off the ground. We're just going to hover to begin with. Now, I want everybody to mount their brooms, and kick your feet off the ground like so"  
Madam Hooch sat on her broom and demonstrated the motion. The first years followed.

"Excellent!"

At first, everythng seemed normal. A few of the kids hadn't quite managed to get their feet off the ground but the majority of them successfully hovering at shoulder height. That was, until

"Oh my" exclaimed Madam Hooch. The class turned to see what had gotten the teacher so red in the face, and that was when they saw.

The broom carrying Alison Dilaurentis was rising above the ground at an alarming pace. The girl looked petrified, and was staring at the ground.

"Help!" she cried "Someone get me down! Someone-"

Her words were cut off by the broom making a fast and sharp movement to the right, and then to the left, and then the right.

"Miss Dilaurentis, get down from there at once!"

"What does it look like I'm trying to do, you mouldy old cow!" Alison called down. There were a few laughs from the crowd.

The broom did not seem to be under Alison's control. It was rising higher and higher with every second that past, and it didn't look like it would be long before the girl descended into the clouds.

"Go and get her, Madam Hooch!" a blonde boy said

"I haven't flown in years, Mr Campbell!" she panicked, still looking at Alison "I wouldn't be able to reach half the height of that broom before falling off. I'm 90 years old, for goodness sake!" There was alot of worry in her voice.

"Well someone has to do something!" Emily yelled angrily.

"I'm quite enjoying this, actually" Spencer chuckled. Emily unknowingly shot her a dirty look. Soon enough, they would no longer be able to see Alison, and then she really would be gone for good.

Just like that, her instinct kicked in. Emily mounted the broom as smoothly as she could and kicked her feet off the ground.

"You're not serious" Aria said, grabbing her shoulder

"Watch me" was all Emily could think to say. Unaware of what she was doing, she began flying the broom. It was a little rough at first, but she soon got the steering right and was flying quite smoothly.

"Miss Fields, I must ask you to come down!" Madam Hooch was yelling "Miss Fields, I-"

Emily wasn't listened. She was swirling up and down on the broom, higher and higher by the second. She could hear distant shouting from the ground, but was ignoring it.

" _I don't even know how to fly one of these things_ " she suddenly remembered " _What the absolute bloody hell am I doing_?"

"Help me, for gods sake, someone!" Alisons cries could now be heard. Emily flew higher and higher, quicker and quicker.

Eventually, Emily reached to where Alison's feet were dangling.

"Oh, thank god" Alison breathed a sigh of relief, not looking down at who was there. As soon as she did, however, her mood suddenly changed.

"Fields?" she gasped "What are-"  
"Grab my hand"  
The words had almost erupted from Emily's mouth, and she was not too sure why she even said them.

" _What's grabbing my hand going to do, you absolutele idiot_?"

"No" Alison shook her head, which was becoming harder and harder as the broom was getting faster.

"Alison" Emily growled "This isn't time for one of your stupid Dilaurentis moral values. Just grab my bloody hand before you descend into space and are never seen again"

The blonde girl seemed shocked at these words because instantly, her hand was holding Emily's as tight as it could. Emily's stomach gave a jolt as it did.

Soon after, Emily grabbed the girls other arm and pulled her off of the mad broom, which instantly flew off so high that it would be impossible for anyone to see it. Alison sat behind Emily on the broom.

"I'm not sure this is made for two people" she said. Emily rolled her eyes.

"You weigh like, 11 pounds, I'm sure we'll be fine" she assured her "Now hold on"  
"Do what now?"  
"Hold onto me, unless you wanna die"  
Alison quickly wrapped her arms around Emily's torso and buried her head into the back of her neck, firmly closing her eyes. They were eventually getting lower towards the ground, when suddenly something small and shiny appeared to have fallen from the broom.

"My necklace!" Alison suddenly gasped. Almost instantly, Emily dived down and sent the broom at what she thought must be top speed. Sure enough, just before it would've hit the ground and smashed, Emily caught the necklace.

There was an eruption of applauds as Emily landed on the courtyard. The Gryffindors, plus Spencer and Aria, were all circled around her saying things such as

"Well done, Emily!"  
"That was awesome!"  
"And that catch at the end!"

Emily couldn't help feeling a little proud of herself-but her spirit dropped as she turned to look at Alison.

No one had gone over to her, or asked if she was okay. They had all ignored her and the blonde girl was now standing alone by the brooms. Her attention was soon averted when she heard the booming voice of Madam Hooch.

"Miss Fields" she said, with the most stern look on her face "Miss Fields, would you please come with me for a moment?"  
The cheering died down. Everyone had looks of concerns on their looked the most worried of all, as she was sure she was going to get in trouble..again. McGonagall had let her off once and she bet anything that the Headmistress was not going to give her a second chance. Reluctantly, she followed the silver haired woman through the castle.

"That was quite some flying, Fields" she told her a few times during the during. Emily was not too sure if she was saying it was admiration, or was trying to make her feel guilty. Still, she replied with a small

"Thanks"

Hooch kept making turns at different corners, and at one point Emily was sure that she had no idea where she was going.

Eventually, the two arrived at a room that Emily knew all too well – Professor McGonagall's office. She gulped.

"Butterbeer" Madam Hooch said to the statue outside the door, just as Emily remembered Alison had done a week ago when the two had been sent to the Head's office. The statue coiled around, revealing a staircase that the woman lead Emily up.

"You may enter" McGonagall announced, before any knocking had even been done. She looked shocked as soon as they entered the room.

"Headmistress" Madam Hooch greeted, bowing to the Professor.

"Rolanda" the Headmistress replied, giving the same sort of bow in her chair "And Miss Fields, back again so soon. What has she done this time?" Madam Hooch cleared her throat.

"As I'm sure you are aware" she began "Gryffindor are still currently searching for a seeker. Now this girl has just had her flying lesson and-"  
"You don't mean to say-?" McGonagall interrupted. Suddenly, Madam Hooch's face changed from a look of sincerity to a look of excitement.

"That is exactly what I am saying, Minerva!" she announced "This girl flew atlast 100ft into the air to retrieve another student, and then to finish it off _dived_ back down to the courtyard with incredible speed and single handedly caught a small object while doing so. I have to say Minerva, I haven't seen such an impressive first year flyer since Potter himself!"  
The mood of the room seemed to tense up when she had said the word 'Potter'.

 _"Potter?"_ Emily thought _"As in Ginny Potter? Surely not...She said 'himself', right? Right?_ "

"Since Potter himself, you say?" the Headmistress seemed to murmer "As you know, Rolanda, first years are not commonly allowed on the Quidditch team. Of course, there was Potter..."  
"Exactly!" Madam Hooch excitedly interrupted "Surely, Minerva, you can give this one a free pass too? I don't see there being a single better flyer than Fields, let alone seeker"

" _Seeker? She want me to be a seeker?"_

Professor McGonagall thought for what looked to be no longer than a moment, and then stood from her desk.

"Very well, Rolanda" she said "You may now get back to your class"  
The woman scurried off towards the door, looking pleased with herself.

"Thankyou, thankyou, Headmistress" she said "You won't regret it"

After Madam Hooch had completely disappeared out of sight, Emily turned to look at Professor McGonagall.

"Congratulations, Miss Fields" she smiled "I must say, Potter is alot to live up too, but from Madam Hooch's words you sound as if you are up to it entirely"  
"I must ask, Professor" Emily asked "By Potter, do you mean Ginny-?"  
"Heavens, no" McGonagall looked almost taken aback "Although, she too was a superb flyer in her day. I hear she plays professionally now. No, I mean her husband Harry. Harry Potter"  
Emily recognised the name as soon as it was said. Maybe she had read it somewhere...Hogwarts a History? She was very pleased to learn that Ginny Potter's husband had also been a Quidditch player and by the sounds of it, an extremely good one.

"Come with me, Miss Fields" the Professor suddenly said, making her way to her door. Emily, for the second time today, absently followed a teacher with no explanation.

They headed towards the outdoors, but did not quite go all the way there. McGonagall stopped at the Herbology greenhouses and swiftly entered the door. There were a class of older students in there and at the front stood a tall man who was holding some sort of peculiar screaming plant.

"Professor Longbottom" the Headmistress cleared her throat and the man turned around

"Yes, Headmistress?" he asked in a kind voice "How may I help you?"  
"May I please have a word with Ezra Fitzgerald?"

"Yes of course. Mr Fitzgerald?"  
A tall boy with messy brown hair and a boyish face came wandering out of the greenhouse. He shut the door behind him and turned to the Headmistress.

"If you don't mind, Professor" he said sweetly "I prefer Fitz"  
"Oh of course, that's right, my apoligies Mr Fitz" she stammered apoligetically "You are probably wondering why I called you out of class so quickly. I am here to introduce you to the new Gryffindor seeker"  
Ezra Fitzgerald (or, Fitz) peered down at a now shaking Emily. He gave her a small smile and held out his hand.

"Ezra Fitz" he introduced as Emily took his hand and shook it firmly

"Mr Fitz is the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team" Professor McGonagall explained.

"I'm in my sixth year here" he told her "And I gotta say, we haven't won a single time in the time I've been here. Apparently we used to win loads when that Potter bloke was here..."  
"I've heard" Emily said, without thinking.

"Now I know she doesn't look much" McGonagall began "But I hear she's a darn good flyer for her age, and has sharp eyesight. Perfect for the new seeker, wouldn't you say?" Ezra nodded his head.

"Absolutely" he agreed "Practice starts on October 1st, 7am on the Quidditch Pitch. Looking forward to seeing your flying skills" He gave Emily a charming smile.

"Looking forward to being on the team" Emily said excitedly. All three of them were smiling now.

"You may get back to your lesson now, Mr Fitz" the Headmistress said. The boy hurried off.

"Thank you Professor"  
"And it seems, Miss Fields" she continued "As if you should be getting back to yours"

"Of course, Professor" Emily said, before running off back to the courtyard. She couldn't wait to tell her friends all about what had just happened.


	7. Please, do talk about me when I'm gone

The first Quidditch practice eventually came and went. She had been introduced to the teams keeper, 7th year Ian Thomas, the 4th and 3rd year chasers, Jasmine Saunders and Lyndon James, and was pleased to find out that a 2nd year boy she had spoken to a few times, Toby Cavenaugh played beater opposite team captain Ezra Fitz. The first game, against Ravenclaw, had been scheduled for November 28th. This left under two months for the team to practice.

However, Emily still had time to think about all that. Right now, the only thing on her mind was Halloween.

The day had finally come where teachers, students and ghosts alike gathered in the great hall for one of the biggest feasts of the year. Emily's mouth was watering just thinking about it.

"I still can't believe you're even _on_ the Quidditch team, if I'm perfectly honest with you" Spencer was telling Emily as the four girls made their way down to the Great Hall and Emily was sharing her thoughts on their upcoming game.

"Thanks, Spence" Emily chuckled

"No, no I didn't mean you're not good enough" she apoligized quickly "I just meant I heard that first years weren't allowed on the Quidditch team. Well, apart from Hary Potter"

"You know about him?" Emily said. The other three girls stopped in their tracks.

"And you don't?" Hanna gasped. Emily shook her head and the rest of the girls shared glances in disbelief.

"Why?" she asked "Should I have?"  
"Uh, yeah!" Aria told her "He's only like, the most famous wizard of all time"

"He was the one that defeated Voldem-"  
"Shh Spence, don't say it!" Hanna interrupted her, to which Spencer was not impressed by.

"It's safe to say it now, Hanna" she laughed "He's dead. Long gone, remember? Harry Potter was the one that killed him"

"Twice" Aria added

"Three times if you count the whole philosophers stone ordeal" Hanna remembered

"Four times if you count the chamber of secrets" Spencer said

"That doesn't count!" Aria argued "He was only a memory then, remember?"

"If you think about it" Hanna said, deep in thought "Then it was really Professor Longbottom that killed him, wasn't it?" Aria and Spencer looked puzzled, but Hanna seemed determined to get her point across.

"Well technically, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named only died after Nagini was killed" she continued "And Nagini was killed by Neville"

"Neville?"  
"Professor Longbottom"

"Well in the great scheme of things" Spencer opposed "Professor Longbottom never would have known to kill Nagini if Harry hadn't had figured out all the stuff about the Horcruxes and destroyed most of them"

"If we're gonna go into technicality" Aria continued "Then wasn't it really Dumbledore that killed Voldemort?"  
"Oh yeah, absolutely"  
"Definitely"  
Emily had no clue what the girls were talking about and pretended to be listening to this squabble that her friends were having, when really she was still focused on making her way down to the great hall. The four girls were almost there, when Emily spotted something that confused her.

Alison Dilaurentis.

Apart from she wasn't heading to the great hall. She was headed the opposite way, looking as if she was sneaking around. She was carring what appeared to be a trunk.

"Hey guys" Emily said, still looking at Alison "I'll catch up with you in a sec I just gotta..."

"Wait, Em..."  
She never finished her sentence, as was already running towards a now sprinting Alison. She followed her all the way through the castle (which seemed like an eternity), until finally reaching some sort of hole in the side of the castle wall. Looking both ways first (Emily was hiding behind a statue), Alison climbed out of the hole and continued running.

" _What the hell..._?"

Reluctantly, Emily followed her out the hole.

"Alison!" She called, as both the girls had been running for so long that they were almost out the grounds "Alison, what the hell are you doing?"

Alison stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, clearly showing that she had not expected Emily to be standing there.

"Emily?" she said in shock "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here?"  
"I could ask you the same thing" Emily opposed, out of breath from running so far to catch up with Alison.

"I thought it'd be a good idea to sneak out during the feast" Alison told her, guiltily looking down on the ground "Everyone's having so much fun and nobody would even notice I'm gone..."  
"I'd notice!" Emily interrupted all too quickly "And what the hell are you sneaking out for anyway? And when were you planning on coming back?" Alison gulped. She started fiddling with her fingers and giving out various huffs and puffs. It was only then that Emily realised what was going on.

"You weren't going to, were you"  
Alison shook her head, which immediately put an expression of shock on Emily's face.

"I don't belong here!" The blonde girl started shouting, and tears were almost welling up in her eyes. Maybe of anger, maybe of sadness.

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked, noticing her glistening eyes. Alison sighed.

"Putting me in Gryffindor was a mistake, everyone knows it" she said "I can't stand being here around all these sappy goey people. And everyone in Slytherin thinks I'm an absolutely disgrace, and so does my mother!" These words made Emily feel bad for her.

"I'm not like you" she continued "I can't just make friends with the first person that says hi to me. I'm not a very likable person..."  
"That's not true" Emily once again, interrupted way too quickly "Why would you say that?"  
"Because it's true!" Alison insisted. Neither of the girls knew what to say for a few minutes, until eventually Alison piped up.

"I never thanked you" Alison told Emily.

"Thanked me for what?" Emily asked, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"For saving me that day in our flying lesson" she confirmed "Merlin knows what could've happened to me if you hadn't have come when you did, and I never thanked you for it."  
"It got me onto the Quidditch team" Emily shrugged her shoulders "Which is thanks enough"

"Still" Alison looked weaker than Emily had ever seen her and for a moment, she thought it would last "I don't see any reason for me to stay. Gryffindor doesn't want me, Slytherin doesn't want me, no one wants me..."  
Emily couldn't understand Alison. It was like she had some sort of split personality. One minute she was all full of herself and mean-girl rude, and the next minutes she was this vulnerable little girl who only wants some attention in the world. She definitely knew which one she prefered.

"The sorting hat must have had its reasons" Emily told her "It always does. It speaks to you. It did speak to you, right?"  
Alison nodded.

"Did it tell you why you were put in Gryffindor?"  
For a moment, Alison didn't look too sure. Almost as if she was struggling to tell Emily the truth.

"I-it did" she finally admitted "I-it said that-"

Alison was cut off by the sound of some sort of rustling. By the look of her face, Emily hadn't appeared to have heard it.

"What was that noise?" Alison whispered. Emily turned around, to see where Alison's eyes had diverted to, but was having no luck.

"What noise?" she questioned.

A rustling sound suddenly came from behind one of the bushes near the two girls.

" _That_ noise!" Alison repeated. Instinctly, she crept closer towards Emily and lightly held onto the arm of her robes.

"H-hello?" Emily, who was more scared than she cared to admit, stammered "I-is someone there?"  
Someone was there, for not long after she had spoken, a seemingly tall girl emerged from the bushes. She had a guilty look on her face, and the two girls recognised her to be

"Spencer?"  
Spencer moved closer towards the two girls, a strange look on her face.

"What the bloody hell are _you_ doing here" Alison spat. Spencer raised her eyebrows.

"What am _I_ doing here?" she said back "What are _you_ doing here? I was worried when Emily ran off in such a hurry, so I followed her"  
Alison looked angry at her cousin. She cut her eyes in her direction.

"Spencer, you shouldn't have" was all that Emily could think to say "If someone catches us, then you'll be in so trouble too-"

"I wasn't gonna let _her_ drag you down with her" Spencer interrupted. Emily looked at Alison as Spencer spoke, and was almost certain that she had heard her mumble something along the lines off

' _See this is exactly what I'm talking about'_  
"I heard your plans, Alison" Spencer told her "Were you really planning on running away?"  
"What's it to you?" Alison fired back "It's not like you've ever gived two damns about me, or anything besides yourself" Spencer scoffed and folded her arms.

"That's rich, coming from the girl who only wears Prada and refuses to ride on public transport" she argued.

"Public transport is for muggles" Alison insisted "Just because I'm not some muggle loving freak like you, doesn't mean-"

The girls squabbling was immediately interrupted by a harsh 'meow'. A rather large ball of fur could faintly be seen roaming around their legs.

"Mrs Norris?" Spencer said in shock, bending down to the cat. The rest of the girls followed.

"You realise" Alison said "That if Mrs Norris is here, then surely-"

"Well well well, look what we have here"  
All three girls looked up at once. Confirming their worst nightmares, the schools caretaker Argus Filch was standing over them, peering down at their terrified faces.

"Ooh dear, we are in trouble"

"Absolutely disgraceful behavior!"

As expected, Spencer, Emily and Alison had been instantly taken to Professor McGonagall's office where they were recieving the lecturing of a lifetime.

"Attempting to sneak out of the castle grounds at this time of night!" the elderly woman continued "What on _earth_ did you three think you were doing?"

Nobody said anything. Alison guiltily tried to hide the trunk she had been carrying behind her feet.

"Miss Hastings, I daresay I expected more from you!" she said "And as for you two, this is already the second time you have been in trouble this year!"  
"Technically, Professor" Alison stupidly startedsaying "The first time, I didn't actually do anything, I was just..."  
"Does it look-" the Headmistress interrupted "Like I give two flying filibusters? As I have warned you in the past, this sort of behavior will have its consequences. Fourty points shall be taken off of Gryffindor house. 20 for the both of you, and 20 from Ravenclaw"

There was a simultaneous groan from each of the girls.

"And the three of you shall be recieving a detention tomorrow night"

More simultaneous groans. The three girls gave eachother pitiful looks.

"Back to your common rooms, all of you!" Professor McGonagall demanded "And after this, I expect exemplary behavior from each of you for the rest of the school year!"


	8. My goosebumps are getting goosebumps

The following day, leading up to the detention, Alison had completely refused to even look at either Spencer or Emily. She would dramatically turn her nose up whenever she passed them in the corridors or saw them in lessons

"Jeez, what's her problem" Hanna scoffed during lunch, noticing Alison's ridiuclous behavior.

"She's just mad because she blames us for this detention" Spencer explained "I mean, it was her fault in the first place really, she was the one that snuck out"

The night finally rolled around. Spencer and Emily made their way to Professor McGonagall's office, and found that Alison was already there. As expected, she completely turned the other way when the two girls arrived.

"Charming" Spencer muttered.

"Girls!" a loud thick Scottish accent could be heard from across the other side of the room "If you would please follow to me your detention" she began walking out of her office and beckoning the first years to go with her.

"What?" demanded Alison "It's not in here?"  
"If it was in here, Miss Dilaurentis, would I currently be telling you to follow me out of my office?"  
That instantly shut her up, and the three girls followed the Headmistress through the school.

"This is all your fault, you know" Alison suddenly whispered to Emily "If you hadn't have followed me then none of this would had happened".

"If you hadn't have snuck out in the first place" Emily hissed back "Then I wouldn't have followed you anyway"  
"Well yeah, but-"  
"That's be enough girls!"  
The three first years and the Headmistress left the castle doors, and started walking out on the grounds. All three girls shared confused looks at once, as they had no idea where on earth they were being taken. It was then that Emily saw a small light, outside what she recognised as Rubeus Hagrid's hut. The tall man was sitting on his doorstep holding a lantern and sharpening what looked to be some sort of spear. Eventually, they walked down to the hut, and Hagrid instantly jumped to his feet.

"Professor McGonagall, ma'm" he bowed. The Professor gave him a small smile, and then turned to the girls.

"Hagrid will be taking your detention this evening" she explained "Do exactly as he tell you, exactly when he tells you or there will be consequences"

Hagrid had a stern look on his face, and glared down at the three girls as Professor McGonagall made her way back up to the castle.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Alison asked. Emily might've known she would soon come out with some sharp remark. Hagrid chuckled again.

"Yeh'll see" is all he said. Alison looked cross.

"I don't want to _see_ , I want to know" she demanded impatiently. Spencer held a smirk on her face.

"Remember what Professor McGonagall said abou' you lo' havin' ter listen ter me" Hagrid said proudly "Now I'm telling yeh that yeh'll see and if I tell yeh yeh'll see, then yeh'll see"

"Whatever"

Suddenly, a large rather old looking grey dog emerged from Hagrid's hut. It ran down the stairs and came and sat down next to Hagrid. Alison unknowingly grabbed a hold of the arm of Emily's robes as it jumped out.

"What the hell is that?" she screamed. Hagrid stroked the head of the dog, laughing as he did.

"Tha'" he began "Tha' is Fang. The poor dog's been 'ere nearly as long as meself. He's gettin' old now, mind-"  
"He stinks!" Alison complained. Emily and Spencer wondered if that girl ever just shut up.

"He'll be joinin' us today" Hagrid explained "Let me just get all me things together and we best be off" He made his way round to the back of his hut, and pulled out a large bag.

"Gotta say, when I heard tha' I'd be takin' a Hastings an' a Dilaurentis fer detention, I was bloomin' shocked out me own skin!" Spencer and Alison rolled their eyes in unison, although totally unaware of this.

"An' yer the little Fields girl. Yer parents were here in the eighties, if I remember righ', tha' is"  
"Yes sir" Emily said, not too sure exactly what to call this tall man. Alison scoffed with laughter.

"Oh please" Hagrid chuckled "Call me Hagrid. All the kids here do" He gave a warm smile. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes until finally something was said.

"You're not gonna be mad that I'm in trouble?" Emily asked innocently. Usually, when she had gotten in trouble teachers had given her the cold look for the rest of her life.

"Oh bleedin' hell, no" Hagrid laughed "I don' treat students any differently fer gettin' in a spot o' trouble. Had these right pair of trouble makers a few years back, Fred and George Weasley..."  
"Ginny Potters brothers!" Emily exclaimed excitedly, accidently revealing her immense love for the Holyhead Harpies.

"Tha's right!" Hagrid seemed to light up at the sound of her name "They were always gettin' in ter trouble, but real nice boys nonetheless. Such a shame about what happened to Fred Weasley..."  
"What happened to him?" Spencer quizzed. Alison faked a yawn, as she was getting bored of the conversation.

"Got 'imself killed in the Battle o' Hogwarts, didn' he?" Hagrid answered sadly

"Battle of Hogwarts?" Emily asked. Alison laughed a little.

"You don't know about the Battle of Hogwarts?" she giggled "Jesus christ, Fields, do you live under a rock? It was this-"  
"Now if she don't know, she don't need ter know" Hagrid interrupted "Terrible thing, the Battlle o' Hogwarts. Course, it led to Voldemor's downfall so it weren't tha' bad in the end"

Hagrid suddenly stopped himself as if he had been talking too much.

"Course, then there were James Potter an' Sirius Black" he continued "Such a shame abou' them, too. Both so young..."  
His reminising was interrupted as a large beetle like tear leeked from his eye. Alison rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I've been talking too much. We best be off, hadn't we?"  
Without further adu, the three girls followed Hagrid into the darkness of which was the Forbidden Forest. They walked past dark branches and shadows of all sorts, Fang gloomily trugding along at their feet.

"Students aren't even allowed in the Forbidden Forest" Spencer whispred to Emily "So what on earth we're doing here, Merlin knows" Emily shuddered. The forest gave her a dark feeling, as if terrible things had happened here, or were happening here...

They stopped in a small clearing. Hagrid lit another lamp and put it on the floor.

"Now here's where we'll be splittin' up" he explained "Emily, Alison, you two'll go that way and me an' Spencer will be off to the left". Alison seemed appalled by the news that they were splitting up.

"Splitting up?" she demanded "What on earth for? We'll be lucky if we survive out here as it is, let alone by ourselves!" Hagrid shrugged his shoulders, not replying.

"We get Fang then" Emily said. Alison instantly shook her head.

"No way" she spat "There is no way that I am having that smelly thing near me any longer than neccessary" Fang whimpered, as if he had heard what Alison said.

"Fine" Hagrid replied "Now, what yeh'll be doin' is lookin' fer anythin' dodgy, like. It's my job usually to come down here at night and check everythin' out. Usually there's nothin', but on the rare occassion that there are things in here, it's nasty as yeh like. If yeh find anythin', jus' send some sparks into the air an I'll come find yeh" Without another word, Hagrid led Spencer away in the trees, an Emily and Alison were left standing there, open mouthed.

"He wants us to 'look out for any danger'?" Alison said angrily "What if there are monsters in here! What if we get attacked, what if-"

"We won't" Emily assured her "You heard what Hagrid said. There's usually nothing out here. We'll probably just look around for an hour and then McGonagall will take us back up to the castle"  
"Why on earth does he do this at night?" Alison asked in disbelief "Why not during the day when there's a sun in the sky and you can see without having to use a stupid lamp" she kicked the lamp that Hagrid had earlier gave them. Emily realised that for once, Alison actually had a decent point.

"Merlin knows" she replied "But come on. We better get moving before something does find us" These words had seem to put Alison off even more.

Slowly, the two girls made their way through the forbidden forest. There was the occassional hoot from a owl, but so far nothing had happened. Almost on cue, a strange howling noise could be heard throughout the forest.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Alison jumped backwards, almost dropping the lamp

"Werewolf" Emily teased, seeing how scared she was "They only come out at night, see. This forest is probably full of them just waiting to jump out at any second"

Alison gave Emily a playful punch to the arm, but with an angry look on her face.

"Shut up, Fields" she snapped "You don't even know what you're talking about..."  
Another howl.

"Oh really" Emily smirked "Then what was that?" Alison looked even more scared than the second time. The two girls continued walking, now even more weary of their surroundings.

"Hey, Alison" Emily suddenly said, almost in a whisper "You're not gonna try and sneak out again, are you?" She fiddled with her hands. Alison turned around, whipping her dirty blonde hair around with her.

"What's it to you, anyway?" she asked, continuing walking through the mud and sticks of the forest.

" _What is it to me_?" Emily suddenly thought " _Why do I even care_?"

"I don't wanna have to run after you again" she half lied "Besides, where would you even go? No one knows where Hogwarts is so you'd have a hard time getting anyway..." Alison laughed a little.

"Are you stupid?" she asked "I'd just summon the Knight Bus and ask it to take me back to my house" Emily remembered riding the night bus once before with her dad. They had gotten lost once on the way back from a Holyhead Harpies game.

"I guess so" she sighed, kicking a stone. There was an awkaward tension in the air after that, after Alison finally said something.

"That's not funny, Fields" Emily was confused and gave her a skeptical look.

"What isn't?" she asked, trying to read Alison's face to know exactly what on earth she was saying.

"You know what" she insisted "Stop whispering like that, it's creepy"  
"Alison, I'm not doing anything..."  
Both girls stopped dead in their tracks. Emily could hear it too. There was a faint whispering sound coming from somewhere, although she couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Well if its not you" Alison hissed "Then who the hell is it?"

Her question was soon answered. From the shadows of the trees could be seen a dark cloaked figure, slowly moving towards the girls. It was then that Emily could make out what it was saying.

" _I smell the blood...the blood of a Death Eater. I can smell it, come to me little girl"_

The dark figure moved quicker. It seemed to almost be running now. Alison screamed.

"Alison!" Emily shouted "Alison, get behind me!"

Alison followed, and immediately fled behind Emily. Emily dived further in front of her, protectively holding out her arms.

" _I SMELL THE BLOOD OF A DEATH EATER"_ the thing was now shouting, still moving closer. " _THE WORK OF THE DARK LORD IS NOT OVER YET. COME TO MEEEEE, COME TO MEEEE"_

Alison buried her head into Emily's back, hugging her tightly. Emily was terrified. She couldn't think of what to do.

Right on time, Hagrid appeared from behind a tree, Spence and Fang a little further behind him.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM" he shouted, pointing what looked to be a pink umbrella at whatever it was. A flash of light shot out the end of the umbrella, and the cloak figure immediately scurried away.

"Come with me" Hagrid said to the girls, holding one giant sized arm around them both "I'll take yeh back up to the castle"

Alison was shaking. When the girls got back up to the Gryffindor common room, everyone was asleep in their dorms. Alison had gone to sit by the fire and Emily had draped a blanket around her shoulders.

"What the hell was it" she shuddered "What the _hell_ was that thing!"  
Emily sat opposite her in a chair the other side of the room. Somehow, she was not as shaken as Alison.

"I don't know" she answered, anxiously biting her nails "I really don't"

"It just...it just came out of nowhere" Alison was almost crying now and for some reason, Emily hated seeing her like this "And what was it saying? It was saying something"  
"' _I smell the blood of a Death Eater_ '" Emily quoted directly, having remembered every single word the figure had said "What's a Death Eater?" Alison shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know" she admitted "I could ask Jason, I gu-"  
"No" Emily interrupted "No one can know about this. This stays between us. I don't want to scare anyone"  
"Spencer saw it too" Alison pointed out.

"I'll talk to Emily" Emily insisted. Alison pushed the blanket off her shoulders, and moved closer towards where Emily was sitting.

"If that kind of thing is roaming around the forest, then who knows what else is out there?" she wondered. Emily shrugged her shoulders. That was when she suddenly remembered something.

"It said something else" she told Alison "I remember, it said something else when it got closer"  
"What did it say?" Alison asked, perching her head up on her hand. Emily gulped

"' _The work of the Dark Lord is not over yet_ '"

Alison froze. Her face turned whiter than it already was, and she sat back further in her chair.

"What?" Emily quizzed "What is it? Who's the Dark Lord?"  
Alison slowly turned her head to face her, still looking completely terrified.

"The Dark Lord" she started explaining "Is Voldemort"


	9. Go Emily!

**I realize in the previous chapter, Emily said 'I'll talk to Emily' instead of Spencer. Sorry about that. Complete brain fart xD**

"That's what they used to call him" Alison told her "H-his followers. They thought he was some amazing lord-person, so they called him the Dark Lord. But why did whoever that was refer to him as that? All his followers are either dead or turned their beliefs against him after he died"

Emily was remembering more now, that the boy named Harry Potter had defeated this so called 'Dark Lord'. Alison looked more nervous than ever.

"You think this has something to do with him?" Emily said. Alison shrugged her shoulders.

"He died, remember Emily" she told her "No one alive on this earth can possibly have a single nice thing to say about him. Look, whatever that thing was out there was probably a prank. It was probably one of the stupid Kahn boys trying to prank me"

"You're probably right" Emily agreed "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this anymore"  
"Agreed"

After the night that the two girls had seen the mysterious cloak figure, neither of them had really spoken about it. It had been a hushed up subject, and they continued with their day to day lives. There was one thing that Emily did notice, however – Alison was being nice to her. After her second near death experience of the term, the Dilaurentis girl no longer looked like she wanted to tread on Emily every time she saw her. She smiled with her, and spoke with her during class. One might even say they were becoming friends.

The days passed by so quickly that Emily hadn't even noticed that November 28th had arrived already. It was her first ever Quidditch match, against Ravenclaw, and she the most nervous that she had ever been.

"You'll be great, Emily" Alison assured her at the breakfast table "Besides, no one will blame you if you don't win anyway. It's your first ever game" Emily smiled. She was right. The team wouldn't be _that_ mad if she didn't pull it out the bag. Still, she ate as much as she could for breakfast, determined to build up masses of energy before the game.

"We'll be cheering for you, Em" Aria and Spencer later told her "Even though it is our house playing against you and we want them to win, you're more important to us" Emily smiled.

"Thanks guys" she said, hugging them both. Suddenly, she wasn't so nervous anymore.

"Alright team" Ezra Fitz, the Gryffindor team captain had gathered the team members together before the game for a team talk.

"As you all know, it is Emily's first game. So don't be hard on her if we don't win. Remember what your first games were like?" Emily was pleased that Ezra had said this, as now she didn't feel as though there was so much pressure on her.

"My first game was awful" chaser, Jasmine Saunders told them "I ended up in the hospital wing with two broken arms" Emily flinched at the sound of this, really hoping that she didn't get sent to the hospital wing.

"My first game, I let in every single quaffle" Ian Thomas, the team's keeper admitted "To be honest, I don't know why Ezra let me stay on the team"  
"Because I believe in you all" Ezra put in "I don't believe that one bad game means you're not up for it, especially your first one. And look at Ian now. He lets one or two quaffles in each game, max"  
Ian looked proud of himself, and he gave Ezra a brotherly pat on the back.

"Now come on, Gryffindors!" Ezra cheered "Let the games, begin!  
The game was about to start. Emily was hovering nervously on her broom. It seemed as though every single person was watching, and this terrified her. Her eyes wandered to the Hufflepuff stall, where Hanna was excitedly giving her her the thumbs up from the front row. Emily also spotted that she was sitting next to that boy she had seen her with a few times, Sean Ackard.

"Now I want a nice clean game" Madame Hooch told Ezra and the Ravenclaw team captain, 5th year Wren Kingston.

"On my whistle. 3, 2 1, BEGIN!

The game was moving so fast that Emily could barely see what was happening. Luckily enough, 3rd year Libby Johnson was commentating the game from the teachers stand.

"The game begins with an early Ravenclaw lead" Libby was saying "Team captain and Keeper Wren Kingston in possession of the quaffle...he goes for a pass...the quaffle is intercepted by Gryffindor Chaser Lyndon James. My my, look at the muscles on that one if you don't mind me saying so my-"  
"Jordan, get on with the game!" Professor McGonagall was standing behind Libby and look as if to be hounding her.

"Sorry, sorry Professor" Libby apologised "Looks like James is going for the hoop..he swerves past Chaser Jackie Molina... he's gone for the goal...AAAAAH what a close one. Nice save from Wren Kingston"  
Emily's face tensed up as she watched the games from the sides. She had not yet spotted the snitch, but had her eyes peeled for it. The Ravenclaw seeker, Tommy Johnson seemed to be doing the same thing from the other end of the court.

"Ravenclaw in possession of the quaffle...Jackie Molina headed to the goalposts...ooooh the ball is intercepted by Jasmine Saunders...she flies with the ball... LOOK OUT THERE'S A BLUDGER COMING RIGHT FOR YOU...the bludger is quickly and bravely batted away by Toby Cavenaugh!"  
Emily couldn't help but feel a little proud of Toby. He winked at her and she gave him a smile back.

"Jackie Molina in possession of the quaffle again...she heads towards the Gryffindor goalposts...SHE SHOOTS...awh, dammit"  
The Ravenclaw's had scored. This meant that they were ten points up. Emily could see from the Ravenclaw stand Spencer and Aria cheering, but they gave her a thumbs up when they noticed her looking at them.

"Keep going team" she heard Ezra shout "We can do this!"  
Emily wasn't so sure. Ravenclaw were now 20 points up and Gryffindor still had nothing. Besides thinking about the current Quidditch game, she still had her mind on whatever had happened in the forbidden forest three weeks ago.

"Gryffindor in possession now, James heads towards the goalposts, he passes to Saunders...GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

There were enormous cheers from the Gryffindor stands and the faint sound of the chant ' _Go, Go, Gryffindor!_ ' could be heard. Emily smiled at her team mates. She turned around to the Hufflepuff stand.

"Go Emily!" Hanna shouted

"Hanna" Emily heard Sean say "Emily's not playing yet"  
Emily laughed at her friend, but continued to watch the game.

"Ravenclaw chaser Meredith Sorenson in possession now... she flies past both Gryffindor keepers...makes a pass to Molina...Molina heads the goal and...OOOOOH SURELY THATS NOT ALLOWED PROFESSOR"

Jasmine Saunders had attempted to intercept the ball off of Jackie, but the Ravenclaw chaser had knocked her clean off her broom and Jasmine was now hurling towards the ground. With a loud thud, she landed on the sand.

"No, Jordan" Professor McGonagall clearly looked angry "That is most certainly not allowed"

Faint whispering could be heard from the crowd asking if she was okay, and everyone had her eyes on her.

Everyone except, Alison.

Emily took this moment to look over at Alison to see where she was. Sure enough, the blonde girl was sat in the front row of the Gryffindor stall smiling directly back at Emily. Emily, unsure whether it was due to nerves or something else, felt a small fluttering in her stomach.

"You got this" Alison mouthed.

At that moment, Emily noticed something small shimmering in the air. She had spotted the Golden Snitch. As most of the crowd and players were all busy being concerned for Jasmine Saunders, Emily took the opportunity to fly directly at it.

It wasn't long, however, before the Ravenclaw chaser Tommy Johnson noticed that Emily was zooming off through the Quidditch pitch. He started tailing her, falling only slightly further behind.

"It looks as if Emily Fields has spotted the snitch!" Libby Jordan was saying excitedly "Tommy Johnson follows closely behind her as the two are on a race to end the game"  
Emily had flowed clear across the pitch at least six times. Each time, Tommy Johnson had nudged her slightly so she had become off balance and the snitch had just missed her reach. The snitch was so close now she could almost taste it. Emily stretched her hannd, and remembered Alisons words.

' _You got this_ '

In that moment, Tommy Johnson stopped trailing her and was knocked to the sidee, spinning wildly.

"It looks like Johnson's been hit by a bludger!" Libby announced "Oooh I gotta say, he's quite a looker too isn't he Professor?" Professor McGonagall was laughing.

"Honestly, Jordan" she chuckled "You're just like your brother"

There it was. The snitch was right in front of her. All she had to do was reach out and grab it. It was then, that she heard Alison's voice from the crowd again.

"GO ON EMILY!"  
And that was it. No sooner had the words left Alison's mouth, the snitch was firmly in Emily's hand. She almost couldn't believe it at first, but sure enough the little golden ball was held in her fingertips, its wings fluttering madly.

"FIELDS CATCHES THE SNITCH, GRYFFINDOR WINS!"  
Huge cheers came from the crowd. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff (she assumed the Slytherins had been supporting Ravenclaw) exploded into applause and cheering. Emily flew out to the middle of the Quidditch pitch and held the snitch up high in her hands.

"YOU DID IT, FIELDS!" Ezra looked as if he could kiss her in that moment "YOU ACTUALLY BLOODY DID IT. YOU MUST BE THE FIRST PERSON EVER TO NOT HAVE A CRAPPY FIRST GAME" Emily smiled at him. She couldn't help feeling proud of herself.

Emily made her way up to the Gryffindor common room after getting changed. She was the last of the Gryffindor team members to finish changing, so was walking into the common room by herself.

"Liquorice Whip" she told the Fat Lady painting, that swung open. As soon as she stepped foot in the common room, there were huge cheers. To her surprise, the first thing that she saw was Alison running up to her and giving her a huge hug.

"You did it!" she yelled happily, letting go after a few seconds "You really did it! I knew you could do it, I just knew..."

"Oh, it was nothing" Emily said, modestly "I mean really, it was Toby that got us the win. If he hadn't have threw Tommy off with that Bludger then I wouldn't have gotten the snitch in the first place" Alison rolled her eyes, and suddenly Toby came out of nowhere.

"It is true, I was amazing, but you were better" he gave Emily a friendly pat on the back and she beamed up at him.

"Bloody well done, Fields!" Gryffindor's seeker Ian Thomas came over to the two girls and gave Emily a high five "That's the quickest time we've ever caught the snitch in by far. And for a first year, by Merlin you're brilliant!" Emily blushed with embarassment at all these comments, and looked over at Alison who was giving her the biggest smile.

"You're brilliant" she told her, giving her a wink. Emily smiled, and it was the most she had smiled in a very long time.


	10. Something different about you

After the excitement of Gryffindor's Quidditch win, it was back to lessons. Within the next few days, as the build up to Christmas was on, nobody was really paying any attention in classes. Well, everyone that was, apart from Spencer who had already started revising for end of year exams.

"Honestly Spence" Hanna chuckled, tossing a penut into her mouth one lunchtime as the girls sat outside in the freezing weather "We haven't even been taught half the stuff that's gonna be in the exam. Why on earth are you revising now?"  
"Well it's better to get an early start" Spencer argued "The more I revise it, the more I will remember it and-"  
"Yeah yeah, whatever"  
After the girls had finished their lunch, they their way to Defence against the Dark Arts. All four girls hated the lesson (even Spencer), as their teacher Professor Umbridge, only ever taught them from a book. On top of that, she was not a very pleasant person.

"God, I wish I could just squeeze Umbridge's neck until her head pops off" Hanna was saying. Emily laughed.

"I agree" she said "God, that woman is a total joke. I wish we-"  
"Good morning class!"  
Both girls stopped in their tracks as they reached their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Professor Umbridge was not standing at the front of their class. Instead, in her place, stood a tall man with dark skin and dark hair. He was smiling proudly as the girls entered the classroom. Spencer and Aria sat down with the rest of the Ravenclaws and Hanna went and sat with Sean (who was now officially called 'the boyfriend') which left Emily to sit down next to Alison over on the Gryffindor side.

"Hey" Alison greeted as she sat down. Emily smiled.

"Hey" she greeted back "So, do you know who this guy-?" she was interrupted by the loud sound of the new teacher closing the back doors and walking up and down the aisles in between the desks of the first years.

"My name" he told them "Is Professor Dean Thomas. From now on, I will be taking over your Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson from Professor Umbridge, who had to take an emergency leave. Permenantly"

Caleb Rivers turned around, laughing.

"I heard McGonagall gave her the sack" he whispered to Emily and Alison "About bloody time too"

There was a cheering from the class at the news that Umbridge would no longer be teaching them, and Professor Dean Thomas was also giving a small smirk.

"I must admit, first years, that was the exact reaction my class at school gave when Professor Umbridge was driven out" he told them, straightening his tie. The class laughed, and the young Professor looked more and more proud of himself.

"So anyway, first years" his face tensed up, and you could tell he was tyring to do his best teacher face "Today we are going to be learning a very simple spell that I think is required for first years to learn. Can anyone tell me the incantation for the knockback spell?"

To no ones surprise, Spencer's hand instantly shot up. Professor Thomas' eyes wandered to where she was sitting, and he smiled.

"Yes little girl on the Ravenclaw table" was what he called her. Spencer blushed at 'little girl'.

" _Flipendo_ " she mumbled. The Professor looked thrilled.

"Excellent, 10 points to Ravenclaw!" he beamed. The Ravenclaw's all smiled at Spencer.

"Now, please may I have a volunteer" he asked. Almost everyone's hand shot up, eager to participate in the class. Dean looked around the room and his eyes eventually landed on Emily.

"You, please!" he said, pointing at her "Yes you, pretty girl in the front row of Gryffindor"  
Emily nervously rose from her seat, and Alison gave her an excited look.

"If you don't mind me asking your name?" he asked her, as she made her way to the front of the class.

"Emily, Sir" she answered "Emily Fields".

"Miss Fields" he rolled up the sleeves of his jacket "If you could please stand several meters away from me, that's it"  
Emily slowly backed up, noticing that all the eyes in the room were now on her.

"Now on three" Professor Thomas started explaining "I am going to perform the knockback charm on you. Now, of course it will not be as powerful as what I would usually use because you are only 12 years old, but you will feel a jolt and be knocked back, obviously" Emily nodded her head, noticably nervous about what was about to happen.

"Now don't be nervous" the Professor said, obviously noticing this "It will only hurt a bit. 1..2...3... _Flipendo_!"

In a sudden moment, Emily felt a small pain hit her in the chest and she was thrown back slightly onto the floor. There were 'oooos' and 'aaaas' from the class, as they watched in awe at the Professor permorning the jinx.

"Excellent, excellent!" Professor Dean started clapping "Round of applause for Miss Fields and 10 points to Gryffindor! God, I've always wanted to say that..."  
The class started clapping as Emily blushed and sat back down next to Alison.

"Now I want you all to partner up" The Professor announced "And you will be trying to Perform the jinx on each other. Remember, blue sparks is a good sign"  
The class all got up at once and made pairs with each other. Spencer and Aria stood at the far corner of the room, and Hanna and Sean made their way next to them. Emily and Alison stood near to the middle of the room.

" _Flipendo_!" Spencer shouted almost instantly. A few blue sparks flew from the end of her wand, however not quite powerful enough to make Aria budge.

"Good try Spence" Aria told her. " _Flipendo_!" The smaller girl also did not have a lot of luck.

"I can see some excellent tries from around the room!" Dean Thomas was smiling with pride "You're all doing so so well!"  
Noel Kahn had almost knocked over Chris Bazini, and from the other end of the room you could see Hanna and Sean deep in practice.

"Hanna, you've got to hold your wand like this" Sean was telling her. Hanna knew exactly how to hold the wand, but again was pretending to be all helpless as an excuse for Sean to touch her hand.

" _Flipendo_!" she shouted. A small array of blue sparks flew from her wand, as Sean gave her a wink and a thumbs up.

"I bet you've done this spell loads" Emily was saying to Alison. The blonde girl shook her head.

"Not at all" she told her "This one's new to me. Hey, why don't you have a go"  
Emily rolled the sleeves of her robes up, just as the Professor had earlier done before performing the spell.

" _Flipendo_!" she shouted. Nothing came out of her wand, and Alison laughed a little.

"Go on then!" Emily said, a little embarassed "You do it then if you're so clever, Dilaurentis" Alison raised her eyebrows.

"Alright then"  
The blonde girl cleared her throat, and stepped back a little. She rolled up the sleeves of her robes, flicked back her hair, and raised her wand.

" _Flipendo_!"

There was a sudden flash of green light, so blinding that Alison herself could hardly see what was happening. Emily was knocked back so high up into the air that she flew over the head of Ravenclaw boys Andrew Campbell and Lucas Gottessman. With a thud, her back crashed against the wall, and she slid down it as if she had been thrown by a giant.

The whole class had stopped what they were doing, and stared at Alison in disbelief. Alison was panting heavily, looking around at all the staring eyes. Emily was staring at her in shock, struggling to breath.

"Em, are you ok?" Spencer asked, breaking the silence. She offered Emily a hand and helped her up.

"Yeah" Emily answered, stil looking at Alison in disbelief "Yeah, I'm fine"

Nobody said anything for a while. There were, however, faint murmers from the Slytherin side of the room. Alison looked as if she wanted to disappear.  
"What is your name, child?" Professor Thomas eventually asked in a hushed voice, moving closer towards Alison. Alison almost couldn't say anything.

"A-Alison" she managed to choke "Alison Dilaurentis" The Professor's breath hitched as she had said her surname.

"You're a Dilaurentis girl" he said, sounding scared of his own words "Y-you have dark blood, in you girl. That green light, is the mark. The mark of a death eater"  
The class all started whispering to each other, giving Alison dirty and shocked looks. There were tears welling up in Alison's eyes and before anyone could say anything else, she ran out of the classroom sobbing.

"Wait!" The Professor called after her "I didn't mean it like that!"  
But it was too late, as Alison was already running through the castle and up to the common room. Some people were laughing, but most of them were still in shock. Before she had the time to think about anything else, Emily left the wall that she was standing on and ran after her.

"Liquorice Whip" Emily panted, reaching the painting of the fat lady.

"Why in such a hurry, dear?" the fat lady asked, picking at her nails.

"None of your flipping business" Emily stormed through the common room. Sure enough, she found Alison curled up in a chair near the fire, sobbing into her knees.

"Alison?" Emily crept slowly towards the crying girl. "Alison, are you alright?"  
"Does it look like I'm alright?" Alison spluttered through her tears, not even looking up.

"No" Emily admitted. She made her way over to the fire and sat next to Alison.

"Why are you here?" Alison asked "I thought you'd be mad at me. I swear, I damn near broke your back down there" Emily put an arm round her friend.

"It's okay" she told her "Honestly. You didn't mean to, it was an accident-"  
"Emily, did you see what happened out there?" Alison looked up and Emily saw that her face was red and blotchy where she had been crying.

"I mean, you were the first in the class to do the spell" Emily tried cheering her up, and it worked as Alison then started quietly chuckling.

"That's not the point" Her face fell after a little while "D-didn't you hear what Professor Thomas said...?"

"Ignore what he said" Emily told her "He was just a bit in shock, tha-" Alison looked slightly angrier now.

"No, Em" she interrupted "H-he said I had dark blood. A-and that green light was the mark of one. Of a _death eater_. I remember now-that's what the servants of Voldemort were called. Death Eaters"

Emily knew that she had heard the phrase 'death eater' before, but was not sure where from. It was then that it hit her.

"' _I smell the blood of a death eater_ '" she whispered. Alison nodded her head.

"Do you know what that means?" she asked darkly. Emily nodded her head, refusing to believe the thoughts that were going on inside her head.

"It means" she said, darkly "Whatever that thing under the cloak was, that thing we saw in the forest...it's after you"


	11. Every family has its secrets

The days following the Defence Againt the Dark Arts lesson from hell, no further mention of the thing under the cloak or the fact that Alison had dark blood had been mentioned. The build up to Christmas was getting more and more exciting. Emily was forced to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas, as her mom had gone to visit her dad up in Bulgaria, where he was doing some sort of Auror's project for the ministry. Spencer, Aria and Hanna had all decided to go home for the Christmas break, leaving only Alison for Emily to talk to as she too had decided to stay. She didn't mind this, but wished her other friends had stayed at Hogwarts.

Barely anyone had decided to stay, and the castle was the emptiest that the two girls had ever seen it. It was Christmas Eve, and everyone was excited about recieving their presents and having a Christmas feast tomorrow

"Knight to E4" Emily commanded her playing piece, as her and Alison played wizard chess in the great hall. She looked smug as her knight piece moved swifty across the board.

"Queen to E5" Alison smirked. Emily's face fell, as Alison's queen drew out a sword and shattered her knight to pieces.

"You can't do that!" she insisted. Alison giggled.

"I just did" she answered back. Emily rolled her eyes. She didn't mind that Alison played dirty, but found it extremely irritating at times.

"This game's boring anyway" Alison suddenly said, rising from her chair and stretching like a sleeping monkey.

"What do you want to do then?" Emily asked "We can't exactly go anywhere...there's nowhere to go". Alison laughed a little and put her hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Oh poor sweet naive Emily" she laughed "There are plenty of places to go, if you know how to get there" Emily rolled her eyes at Alison's cryptic comment. She seemed to have been making alot of them since she'd started reading crime novels. Suddenly, Alison's face seemed to lit up, and she grabbed Emily by the hand.

"Come with me" she ordered.

"To where?" Emily asked. Alison didn't say anything,but started leading Emily out of the great hall. Emily absently followed Alison, unsure of where they were going. She led the girl all around the castle and eventually, to a long stone staircase leading down that Emily had never seen before.

"What in the name of Merlin is this?" she asked Alison, as the two girls came to a stop.

"Go down it" she told her. Emily followed her orders, and made her way down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, was a low lit corridor that consisted entirely of colourful paintings, mainly of fruit. At the end of the corridor was the biggest painting of all that, to no surprise, contained a huge array of fruit.

"How did you find this place?" Emily asked as Alison soon after followed her down to the corridor of fruit paintings.

"It's a secret" she told her, and that was all Emily was gonna get for now. Alison moved towards the giant painting of fruit at the end of the corridor, and stared at it.

"You see the pear?" she pointed out to Emily. Emily looked for a little while, but eventually spotted a medium sized pear at the side of the painting.

"Yeah?" she replied, unsure where this was going.

"Tickle it"

Emily almost burst out laughing, but looking at Alison's face she could tell that this was no joke to her.

"You're serious?" she managed to say. Alison nodded her head.

"Dead serious"

Emily did as she was told and, feeling completely stupid as she did so, began tickling the pear. Nothing happened for a moment and Emily thought that Alison was pulling a prank..until the pear started growing. It grew outwards and began forming a strange shape, and after a few minutes or so the pear had turned entirely into a doorknob. Emily couldn't believe it, and without any order started turning the doorknob.

"Misses Alison!"

As Emily turned the doorknob, the painting swung open and almost instantly, the small voice could be heard.

"What the-" but Emily was soon cut off by Alison stepping into the painting and replying

"Hey, Winky!"

As Emily stepped further into the painting to join Alison, she saw what she had been lead to. Through the painting was what looked to be a huge kitchen, that seemed to stretch for miles and miles. There were no ordinary workers in this kitchen, however. Stationed at a number of different areas were small goblin like creatures, only their eyes were much larger and goblins and they seemed to all have very friendly looks on their faces. They were busy preparing different platters of food, and the smell coming from the giant kitchen was the most amazing thing that Emily had ever smelled in her life.

"What are these things?" Emily whispered to Alison, who was shaking the hand of a particularly small looking creature.

"They're house elves" Alison answered "McGonagall's got hundreds of them working here in the kitchen. This is who cooks all the food" Emily had wondered who could possibly cook so much food for the Hogwarts feasts, but always assumed it to be some mad wizarding chef with a hundred hands, not hundreds of tiny creatures.

"Winky is wondering, who is this?" the small house elf was now pointing at Emily and looking up at Alison.

"This is my friend Emily" Alison explained. Winky looked delighted at Emily, and held out her hand for her to shake.

"Is an honour for Winky to meet a friend of Misses Alison'!" she beamed proudly. Emily smiled.

"It's an honour to meet you too Winky" she told her.

"Winky and her friends is busy preparing the Christmas feast for tomorrow, Misses Alison and Misses Emily" Winky was busy explaining. "Would Misses Alison and Misses Emily like to try some of Winky and her friends food?"  
"Oh, no it's alright Wi-"  
"Absolutely!" Emily interrupted her, and Alison rolled her eyes. Winky smiled, and led the two girls towards the middle of the kitchen, where the smell of the food seemed to be gettnig richer and richer.

"This is Franky" Winky introduced them to a slightly taller looking elf, who was cutting up vegetables and peeling potatoes.

"Franky has been making potatoes!" Franky told them both, jumping down from his stall "Would Misses Alison and her friend like to try some?"  
Without an answer, Franky handed the girls two steaming hot potatoes, and eagerly stared up at them both to hear what they thought of his work.

"Franky, these are delicious!" Emily told him, taking her second bite of the house elves potato.

"Franky is a good cook" Alison added, having finished the potato. The house elf looked thrilled.

"Thank you, Misses Alison and her friend!" he beamed "You is next wanting to be trying some of Polly's butterbeer cake, Misses" Franky pointed towards the edge of the room where a small elf was busy putting the icing on a rather large cupcake.

"Polly has plenty to share!" Polly called over to Emily and Alison "Misses Alison and other Misses is needing to be trying one!"

Both the girls took a cupcake, and immediately took a bite. It was unlike any of them had ever tasted before. They were creamy, sweet, and just the right amount of sour all at the same time.

"Is Misses and her friend liking Polly's cupcake?" Polly asked, just as eagerly as Franky had. Both girls nodded, and Polly looked thrilled.

Suddenly, knocking what was left of Polly's cupcakes out of the girls hands, three even smaller house elves came running out from behind the table and all three jumped on Winky at once.

"Who are these little guys?" Alison asked, bending down and patting one of the miniature elves on the head.

"These is Winky's children, Miss" Winky told her proudly "This is Binky, Tinky, and Dobby Jr"

"Hello!" all three of the small elves said at once.

"Dobby Jr?" Emily looked puzzled "Where's Dobby Sr?"

All at once, all of the house elves in the kitchen turned to Alison, and took the tea cozys off their head, bowing their heads. A few tears had welled up in Winky's eyes and she was wiping them with her blouse.

"Dobby is dead, Misses" Winky managed to say. Alison looked shocked, and immediately went to give Winky a hug, the small house elf hugging back.

"Dobby died bravely, Misses" a house elf from the back of the room piped up.

"Dobby died protecting his friends, Misses" another said.

"Dobby was a brave elf, Misses" said another.

"Dobby was killed by one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's helpers, Misses"  
"Dobby is sorely missed, Misses"

"Dobby was a very good cook, Misses"  
"Dobby was a coward!"  
The rest of the house elves gasped as they heard this. They all turned their heads to the back of the room, and an old crooked elf came hobbling from the back of the room.

"Don't mind Kreacher, Miss" Winky had finished blowing her nose and was now evilly glaring at the old elf. "Kreacher is not a very nice elf!"  
"Kreacher is a very wise elf" the old elf grumbled, giving the girls evil looks. "Kreacher remembers Dobby for what he was. A muggle-loving blood traitor!"

There were more gasps from around the room, and even Emily and Alison had gasped this time.

"That's right!" Kreacher continued "Dobby escaped from the noble family he served. Dobby deserved what Dobby got! Kreacher lived to serve the noble house of Black, oh yes Kreacher did. Dobby did not care for his masters, he was a foolish elf!" Winky proceeded to slap Kreacher with her tiny little hands, and Emily and Alison jumped back a little in shock.

"How dare Kreacher!" she shouted "Dobby was a brave brave elf. Kreacher is not being half the elf that Dobby was!" The olf elf cackled.

"Winky is foolish!" he snarled "Winky is-!" But he cut himself off. The elf had just noticed Alison, and was curiously staring up at her.

"Interesting" he sneered, stroking his chin and moving towards the blonde girl. Alison backed up a little with every step Kreacher took.

"What's interesting?" she asked, reaching the wall. Kreacher grinned.

"Kreacher wasn't aware that Master had a sister" he looked somewhat puzzled, and somewhat cunning at the same time. Alison, on the other hand, was busy looking confused.

"You mean Jason?" she asked "Y-yeah, I'm Jasons sister. Why are you calling him master?" Kreacher looked insulted.

"Foolish girl, not a Jason!" he snapped at her. He continued rubbing his chin, and scanning Alison vigorously. "Not a sister, not a sister" he was mumbling to himself "A niece"

Alison and Emily looked at each other at the same time, both of them utterly confused by what this grumpy old elf was saying.

"I don't have an uncle" Alison told him "I only have Aunt Mary, maybe you've got the wrong-"  
"Kreacher is never wrong" Kreacher interrupted, turning away from Alison and pacing the room slightly "Kreacher can smell it in you-Kreacher could recognise his masters blood anywhere"

Alison gulped. The elf was starting to scare her.

"Who is your master?" she asked him. The elf instantly turned around with a grim look on his face, scaring the rest of the elves in the room. Binky, Tinky and Dobby Jr were all hiding behind Emily's leg, holding onto her robes.

"Why, everyone knows who Kreacher's master is" he told her "Kreacher is very proud of his master. Master was a brave brave boy, and master trusted Kreacher with everything"  
"Who?" Alison asked. Kreacher grinned.

"Kreacher's master" he continued "Kreacher's master was sir Regulus Black"

"What the hell" Emily started, as the girls almost ran out of the elves kitchen "Was that all about?"  
"You're asking me?" Alison shouted back, looking the most distressed that Emily had ever seen her "God, that bloody elf was creepy, wasn't he? Why was he talking about Regulus Black?" Emily shrugged her shoulders, as the girls quickly made their way down the stone corridor and past the paintings of fruit.

"Alison, who's Regulus Black?" she asked. Alison stopped dead in her tracks.  
"You don't know who Regulus Black is?" she asked, her face turning bright red. Emily shook her head, and Alison laughed a little.

"Regulus Black" she started telling her "Was a member of the Black family"  
"I figured" Emily interrupted, making Alison roll her eyes but afterwards laugh a little.

"The Black family were dark wizards" she continued "I-I think most of them were supporters of You-Know-Who..."  
"But what's that got to do with Kreacher?" Emily asked.

"He must have been their house elf" Alison told her "Rich Family's all own house elves...Kreacher must have been the Black's" Both girls looked confused for a moment.

"Why is he here then?" Emily wondered "Why isn't he still with the Blacks...?"  
"They all died out" Alison remembered "Everyone under the name of Black is dead. The ones who married off into different families were disowned. Some of them were ashamed of the family and changed their names. It would be impossible to know who's a relative of the Black's nowadays and who-" Alison stopped herself once she realised what she had said. Emily was staring at her with a frightened look on her face.

"Alison" she said, in a hushed voice "Do you think-?"  
"It's possible" Alison answered "B-but it can't be true, right? Surely my parents would have told me, or-or _someone_ would have told me" Emily nodded her head.

"And maybe" she was saying, as the two girls reached the top of the stairs "That Kreacher's gone nuts and is getting confused. Maybe you look similar to someone from the black family, and he just got confused in his old age" Alison looked skeptical.

"Maybe" she said "But remember what he said, Emily. _Kreacher is never wrong_ "


	12. You know more than you think

"Alison!"

Alison found a pillow had been thrown at her face, waking her up.

"Ow!" she shrieked "What the hell-?"  
Emily was standing at the side of her bed, still in her pyjamas, but looking extremely excited.

"What time do you call this?" Alison asked impatiently, glancing at her clock and noticing that it was 6:17 in the morning.

"Get out of bed, stupid, it's Christmas!" Emily told her happily, pulling the covers off of the half asleep girl. Alison let out a long groan.

"I don't _do_ Christmas" she grumbled.

"I don't care what you do, get out of bed before I drag you by your hair"

Realizing that Emily was 100% serious, Alison pulled herself out of bed, before being dragged down the stairs by a very excited Emily.

"My hair's a mess" Alison complained, desperately trying to brush down a few bits of hair sticking out the top of her head.

"Your hair is fine" Emily assured her, and afterwards added "Your hair is always fine"

To both their surprise, there was an enormously decorated Christmas tree near the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, and underneath it sat a huge array of presents.

"Woah" both of them said at once.

"Are they all for us?" Alison asked, marvelling the huge stack of presents before her.

"Must be" Emily said "We're the only Gryffindor's that stayed home for Christmas. Wasting no time at all, both girls raced to the Christmas tree and sat amongst their presents.

"I found one for you" Alison announced, handing Emily a medium sized box wrapped in golden snitch paper. Opening it, she found that it was a box of Chocolate Frogs and Liquorice Wands from Aria.

"Hey I've got one for you" Emily threw a large box at Alison. To both of their horror, they found that it had been wrapped in Slytherin wrapping paper.

"It's from my mother and father" Alison gulped, reading the tag. Emily moved closer towards her, reading the tag over her shoulder.

"Aren't you gonna open it?" she asked. Alison nodded her head almost rapidly. She began tearing the paper, and opened the cardboard box that was inside it.

"Holy shit"

The box was filled with Slytherin things. Slytherin posters, Slytherin hats, Slytherin scarves, gloves, t-shirts, sweets, quills, you name it. Alison stared in disbelief at the box.

"Hey, my mum sent me the same box" Emily piped up, revealing a huge load of Gryffindor items "Our mums must have shopped at the same place"  
"It's not funny, Emily" Alison was gritting her teeth now, and looked completely overwhelmed.

"She doesn't know I'm not in Slytherin. Why doesn't she know? Why did no one tell her?" Emily shrugged.

"I guess most first years send their own owls to their parents saying all that" she figured "Maybe your mum just assumed that no news was good news, right?" Alison looked almost on the verge of tears now, and Emily was trying extremely hard not to run over to her and give her a huge hug.

"What do I do with the box" Alison asked. Emily snatched the box from her hands, and threw the whole thing in the fire.  
"Emily!" Alison stood up and pulled a disturbed face "What did you do that for? What was-"  
"So what? Not like you're gonna be needing it" she shrugged, tucking in to a chocolate frog. Alison defeatedly sat back down, and continued opening the rest of her presents.

After having opened all their presents, both girls had forgotten about the whole Slytherin mixup ordeal, and were happily enjoying what they had got. Emily had gotten a box of treacle fudge from Hanna, a copy of _Quidditch through the Ages_ from Spencer, a box of cauldron cakes from Toby Cavenaugh, a Holyhead Harpies poster from her dad, various other boxes of sweets and chocolates from her aunts and cousins, and a vintage Gryffindor hoodie from Alison.

"Is that all of them?" Alison asked, as she too was now surrounded in gifts and torn wrapping paper.  
"I think" Emily shrugged. It was then that she noticed a small parcel round the back of the tree, wrapped up in black paper and tied together with a dark green ribbon. Curious, she grabbed the small package and examined it.

"What is it?" Alison asked, creeping closer towards Emily

"It's for you" Emily noticed, reading the label. She carefully handed it to Alison, and Alison too looked puzzled when having a closer look at the tiny gift.

"It hasn't got a name on it" she said "It doesn't say who its from"  
"Open it anyway" Emily suggested.

"Like I wasn't gonna open it, Fields" Alison scoffed. Carefully, she undid the ribbon and opened up the box. Inside, was a silver and Black necklace with the letter 'B' carefully placed in the middle. The necklace seemed very heavy, very expensive and by the looks of it, very old.

"What is it?" Emily asked, taking the chain of the necklace in her hand and carefully examining it.

"I-I don't know" Alison replied, holding it out and staring at it with a strange look on her face.

"Who do you think its from?" Emily wondered, admiring the necklace.

"I-I don't know" Alison repeated. She no longer looked like she was curious about the necklace, but instead completely terrified.

"You know what the B could stand for, right?" Emily whispered, now looking quite scared herself. Alison nodded.

"Black"

As dinner time rolled around, both girls started making their way down to the great hall. Alison was still in shock at the unexpected Christmas gift she had recieved, whereas Emily on the other hand found the whole thing hilarious.

"You know, if I had known about this whole 'dark family blood' thing before, I would've bought your christmas present from Borgin and Burkes instead" she joked. Alison rolled her eyes, but let out a smirk

"Shut up, Fields" she playfully punched her on the arm.

"You know, I could call you 'Dilaurentis" Emily continued "But I might just skip straight to Black instead" Alison almost let out a laugh this time.

"It's not even funny!" she insisted, but clearly showing that she was amused "It could actually be true, you know. And then..." she paused.

"And then?" Emily asked.

"And then everything would change" she finished. Both girls shuddered, but their spirit was instantly brightened as they entered the great hall.

The food was only laid out on one table, as there were so little people actually eating the feast. It smelled almost as good as the kitchens had, and now that the food was all cooked it looked even better.

"Welcome, welcome!" Professor McGonagall beamed to the girls as they entered the great hall. She had a proud look on her face as she admired all the food that the house elves had prepared "Take a seat, please!"  
The girls did as they were told, and sat down opposite three hufflepuff boys and around a few ravenclaw girls. The Hogwarts staff were sat at the back of the room on their own table, looking delighted at the house elves work.

"I've really got nothing to say" McGonagall almost laughed "Other than, dig in!"  
No sooner had the words left her mouth, everyone was frantically grabbing for as much food as they could and piling it on their plates. Emily's plate was full of chicken drumsticks and roast potatoes, and Alison's full of pork sausages and salty french fries.

"I'm sure-" Alison started saying in between mouthfuls of sausage "-that not all the Blacks were dark wizards, right?" Emily nodded in agreement, only half listening to what her friend was saying as she was so overwhelmed by the food.

"I mean, there were so many of them that not all of them must have been in Slytherin, yeah?" Emily nodded again, still not really listening.

"Emily are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Alison noticed this. Emily guiltily turned to her friend.

"Yeah, yeah" she insisted, swallowing a potato "Not all the Black's could have been bad, some not in Slytherin" she instantly started chewing on a yorkshire pudding once she had finished eating.

"There must be someone around here who knows something about them" Alison said "I'd like to know a bit about them, really, if I am related to them and all. I mean, they all attended Hogwarts so someone must know something about one or two of them, right?" Emily nodded her head.

"If they're still alive, that is" she laughed.

"Emily, I'm serious!"  
Emily suddenly stopped chewing, and slowly turned her head to Alison.

"Serious!" she said, swallowing her mouthful. Alison looked confused, but Emily looked like she had just figured out the world.

"I'm not following" Alison told her.

"Don't you remember?" Emily said "The night we had detention, and Hagrid was talking about troublemaker. He said something about someone called Sirius. Sirius Black!"  
Alison's eyes widened, and she dropped her fork.

"I do remember!" she announced, happily "Fields, do you know what this means? Hagrid knew a Black! We can go talk to him and-"  
"Woah woah woah, there" Emily interrupted "What are you gonna say to him, exactly? Hey Hagrid, we broke the rules, snuck into the secret underground kitchen and got told by a 600 year old house elf that my blood smelled like that of his dead masters, who just so happened to be a Black" Alison nearly spat out her carrots laughing.

"You're right" she realized "That does sound stupid. But who else am I gonna ask? Hagrid's safe" Emily shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head in agreement.

"Fine" she said "We'll talk to Hagrid after the feast"

"Hagrid, Hagrid wait up!"  
The games keeper was making his way across the Hogwarts grounds, his head bowed down to the ground and his hands firmly in his pockets. He turned round very suddenly when he heard his name being called.

"Emily Fields an' Alison Dilaurentis!" he smiled happily

"Can we talk to you?" Emily asked. Hagrid nodded his head, and grinned with delight.

"Of course yeh can" he replied "Now, wha' could two pretty young girls like you want ter talk about with the likes o' me?" The girls looked at eachother with a certain look on their faces.

"We wanted to talk to you about Sirius Black" Alison told him. The large man looked quite shocked at this.

"You better come inside then" he told them both with a look of sincerity. Reluctantly, Emily and Alison followed Hagrid down to his hut, that seemed to be surrounded by a variety of dying plants. Hagrid's dog, Fang, was impatiently sitting on the doorstep.

Hagrid opened the tiny door of his little hut, and offered the girls a seat inside. The hut was unlike either of them had ever seen before. It was only one room, that consisted of a shabby looking bed, a worn down table with four stools, a small worktop with a stove and a fireplace in the far corner.

"Would yeh like some tea an' scones?" he offered. Both girls shook their heads at the same time.

"No thanks" they told him "We're still full from the feast"

Hagrid made himself some tea, and sat down on one of the tiny stools opposite Emily.

"Now" he started saying, in a rather hushed voice "What was it yeh wanted to know about Sirius Black?"

"We just wanted to know what he was like" Emily told him, knowing full well that 'we' meant Alison. To both girls surprise, Hagrid smiled proudly.

"I can honestly say to yeh tha' he was one o' the nicest boys this school has ever seen" Hagrid said. Alison looked pleased with this news, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What house was he in?" she asked.

"He was in Gryffindor" Hagrid told her "Was a bit of a shock, if yeh ask me. Everyone though' he was going ter be sorted into Slytherin, as 99% of the Black family were. But no, Sirius was sorted in ter Gryffindor, and ter tell yeh that Gryffindor much better suited him would be an understatement"

Alison, hearing this story, was reminded a bit of herself.

"So you knew him well then?" Emily asked.

"Oh, yes" Hagrid nodded his head vigourously "Him an' James used to come visit me all the time. Right pair o' hooligans, they were together, but damn nice boys, I tell yeh"

"James?" Alison wondered

"James Potter" Hagrid explained "Harry Potter's dad. Him an' Sirius were the best o' friends in their Hogwarts days" Emily looked as if she was about to say something, but was instantly cut off by the firm grip of Alisons hand on her own.

"If you say _one thing_ about Ginny Potter" she whispered in her ear "I _will not_ hesitate to kill you"

Emily bowed her head in shame, and continued listening to Hagrid.

"But with Sirius Black, it weren't all fun an' games" he continued saying, rather darkly

"What do you mean?" Alison looked worried.

"Well, after the Potters died, Black was accused o' sellin' them to You-Know-Who, yeh see. He was their secret keeper, meanin' that only he knew their location. Then, he got accused o' murderin' a bunch o' people in public, including another one o' the Potter's friends, Peter Pettigrew. Got thrown in ter Azkaban after that, didn' he?"  
Alison covered her mouth with her hand in shock, not noticing that the other one was still firmly gripped onto Emily's.

"Did he do it?" Emily asked, sharing Alison's look of shock.

"O' course he didn' do it" Hagrid told them both, making them out huge sighs of relief. "Although I mus' admit, I believed he did do it an' all up until a few years ago when I was let in on the truth. Turns out at the las' minute, Black had given the job of the secret keeper to Pettigrew, as You-Know-Who was less likely ter suspect him. He was the one that sold them out. Course, no one but the Potters and Black knew about this, so the blame was instantly put on him"  
"That's awful" Alison looked distraught "And what about the killings of all those people, did he do that?" Hagrid shook his head.

"No, no he didn'. After he got the news that someone had sold the Potters out, he knew it had been Pettigrew. He did plan on killin' the boy, an' I don' blame him. But Pettigrew was smart. He killed all those people with his wand behind his back, cut off his own finger, and transformed into a rat" Emily almost laughed at this, but was instantly stopped as Alison squeezed her hand even tighter.

"What happened to Sirius?" she asked.

"Well, o' course, it looked like he killed all those people and then Pettigrew himself, so he was put in ter Azkaban without trial. Twelve years he spent in there, innocent as yeh like. Until one day he escaped and came after Pettigrew, who ended up livin' in the Weasleys house for twelve years, but tha's another story"

"So he was innocent?" Alison asked, eagerly "He didn't do anything bad?"  
"Not a bad bone in his body" Hagrid admitted "Only bad thing he ever did was trust tha' Peter Pettigrew. I only found out that he was innocen' after he died, mind. Go' killed by his own cousin two years after he escaped" Hagrid looked almost on the verge of tears, which made both girls slightly uncomfortable.

"H-he died" Hagrid was now sobbing "H-he died pr-protectin' Harry Potter. I never knew h-he was innocent. I-I never go' the chance te-ter tell him tha' I though' he was one o' the br-bravest men I ever knew" Alison handed the large man a tissue, and watched as he blowed his nose and wiped his eyes.

"Hagrid, we have one more question" Emily suddenly remembered. Alison looked at her in wonder, not knowing what she was planning on saying "Who is Regulus Black?"  
Hagrid stopped sobbing, and looked up at the eager face of Emily.

"Why, he was Sirius' little brother, o' course" he told them. Both Emily and Alison shared the same look, as if they were almost figuring something out.

"Was Sirius Regulus' only sibling?" Emily asked. Hagrid nodded his head.

"Did Sirius ever have any children?" Alison asked almost immediately. Hagrid looked quite shocked at this.

"No" he replied "Sirius never even had a girlfriend. Some say he was gay, mind. In hindsigh', he did used to hang around with that Remus Lupin alo'..."

The girls stood up quite quickled, and made their way towards the door.

"Thank you, for everything Hagrid" Emily said quickly "You've been really helpful, but we really have to get going"  
"My pleasure" Hagrid smiled. "Hey, you girls pop over any time yeh-"  
But it was too late, as both of the girls were already halfway back up to the castle.

"You heard him!" Alison was shouting "Sirius was that Regulus Black's only sibling, and he didn't have any kids. He was bloody gay!"

"Then what the hell was that elf on about?" Emily was shouting back "He wouldn't have just made that up out of thin air, there must be some sort of connection" They had reached the castle now.

"Well unless there was some sort of secret Black child, which I highly doubt, then that stupid elf was just chatting shit!"

"He was being too specific to be chatting shit!" Emily insisted "Alison, maybe there's more to this than you think. This whole thing seems alot more complicated than this, and I think we're close to figuring it out, but you need to trust what the elf said!" Alison stopped and folded her arms, giving Emily a look of doubt.

"All I know" she said "Is that there's something not right about this whole situation. Whether its to do with Regulus or Sirius or whoever, I need to know exactly what it is. Now"


	13. Promise Me, Em

Christmas and Boxing day came and went, and the day after that, the students that had gone home for Christmas were back. It was the morning of New Years Eve, and everyone in the castle was buzzing with excitement. The 'Sirius situation', as Emily and Alison were now calling it, had been discussed various amounts of times, and not once had either of them come up with some sort of explanation to what was happening. Alison was sat alone in the library, studing for an upcoming test and Emily and the rest of the girls were sat at the opposite side of the room. Emily hated to see Alison sat all alone, but couldn't sit with her as the rest of the girls weren't even aware that the two were friends, and seemed to still hate her guts.

"Okay, I don't get it" Hanna was saying, chewing the end of her quill "How are you supposed to know the 12 different uses of dragon blood? Who even has room for that information in their brains?"

"You're not supposed to know all of them, Han" Spencer was also chewing her quill, but looked much more focused than Hanna did "That's the point. Nobody knows all 12 uses" Hanna sighed.

"Then how do they know that there are 12?" she pointed out. Nobody knew the answer.

"I just hope I can get through this without Slughorn reminding me what a bright young witch my mother was" Aria huffed.

"And what a delightful young girl my sister is" Spencer added, sharing Aria's look of disgust. Hanna and Emily both shrugged at each other.

"Ugh, don't look now" Spencer whispered to the other three girls, attempting to cover her face with her hand "Noel Kahn's coming this way"  
In the term that they had been at Hogwarts, Noel Kahn had given himself a certain repupation of being a wannabe bad boy, extreme show off and an all round sour person.

"Ladies" he greeted them, leaning against the desk they were studying on and giving his signiature grin.

"Look what Mrs Norris dragged in" Hanna jeered up at him. Noel laughed.

"I'm only trying to be nice, Hanna Banana. I came over to invite you all to my New Years bash tonight" The girls all let out groans in unison.

"I'm extremely certain you're not allowed to do that" Spencer pointed out

"Only if we get caught" Noel argued

"Where is it?" Emily asked.

"Just follow the green" he replied mysteriously "Party starts at lights out. Be there"

The girls watched as the Slytherin boy made his way back over to his friends.

"Oh and, Fields" he called back "You're little friend is gonna be there, if that gives you any motivation" Emily turned bright red.

"What little friend?" Aria asked, when Noel was completely out of sight.

"Oh, no one" Emily replied, not wanting to let the girls know that she didn't actually despise their common enemy "Just a friend from a few of my classes"  
"Well is this 'just a friend' cute?" Hanna asked, smirking and playfully punching Emily on the shoulder.

" _Great_ " Emily thought " _She thinks its a boy_ "

"Han, it's just a friend" Emily repeated. Quite clearly showing that she didn't believe her, Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Just a friend, my ass"

"So you're going to this thing too?" Emily asked Alison, noticing that she was dressed and looked like she was ready to go out.

"Noel Kahn's New Years Party?" Alison asked "Yeah, I'm going" Emily looked uneasy.

"Noel Kahn's so mean to you" Emily pointed out "Why would you go to his party?"  
"He's mean to everyone" Alison argued "Plus, everyones going to this party. Loads of 5th years are going too, because Noel's brother Eric invited his friends" Emily shrugged.

"I swear if he hurts you" she muttered "I'm gonna curse his brains out of his stupid thick skull" Alison grinned.

"Thanks, killer" she smiled. Emily smiled too. _Killer_ , she thought. _That was a new one_.

"Come on then" Emily finally said after getting all her stuff together "We better get going to this stupid party" Emily was now walking towards the door, but Alison seemed to be hesitant.

"Fields?" she called, in a small voice. Emily turned around.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Promise you won't let anything bad happen to me" Emily walked closer towards her.

"Why do you think something bad's gonna happen to you?" she asked. Alison shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the floor.

"With this whole Sirius Situation" she said "I-I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this" Emily laughed a little.

"Alison, it's just a party" Emily assured her "Nothing's bad gonna happen to you, I promise" 

Noel wasn't kidding when he said 'follow the green'. All down the corridors, there seemed to be whisps of green smoke floating about. Merlin knows how none of the teachers spotted it, but due to the smoke Emily and Alison found their way to the party no problem.

"I've never seen this room before" Alison observed. The party entrence was a small door in the middle of a large wall. Neither of the girls had ever seen the door before, almost like it had only just turned up. As they entered the tiny door, they were amazed at the site.

To one side of the room, there were all sorts of wizarding sweets and drinks including Emily's favourite, butterbeer and chocolate cauldrons. At the far end of the room was a tall DJ stand with incredibly large speakers at either side of it. There were three hot tubs in each corner, a multicoloured dance floor in the middle with a giant disco ball dangling from the ceiling and and a banner draping from the tops reading '2006, HERE WE COME!"

"How the hell" Emily started "Is this even here? How did Noel do all this? How come the teachers can't hear this stupid amount of noise?"  
"Because the walls are soundproof" a sly voice came from behind them. Turning around, they saw it to be Noel Kahn holding a large bottle of butterbeer "It was funny really. This morning me and Chris were walking past this place, talking about how we really wanted a place for a New Years party, and this door just turned up! The room was already set up like this, banner and all" The girls started around the room in disbelief.

"Hey, Emily!" Emily heard from the back corner or the room. Spencer, Aria and Hanna were standing around a hot tub with drinks in their hand "Over here!"

Emily guiltily looked at Alison, who shrugged her shoulders and frowned.

"Go over there" she told her "I know they don't like me, it's fine" Emily looked distressed.

"Maybe if you tried being a little nicer to them, they-" but Alison shook her head.

"No use" she sighed "I was pretty awful to them the first day here, and I'm pretty sure they won't forgive me for that. And Spencer hasn't liked me since we were three years old. Just go over there" Emily, not really wanting to leave Alison, reluctantly made her way over to her friends.

"Were you just talking with mega-bitch?" Hanna asked. Emily rolled her eyes.

"She's not that bad!" she told them "Honest!"  
"Yeah well I've known her my whole life and trust me, she is" Spencer argued, death glaring Alison who was now awkwardly trying to make conversation with Ravenclaw twins, Cindy and Mindy Moreno.

"You guys should just give her a chance" Emily pleaded, but none of the girls were having any of it.

"Whatever" Aria huffed "Hey, you guys wanna go in the hot tub?"  
"In all our clothes?" Emily laughed.

"There's a rack of bikinis over there" Hanna saw, pointing to what looked to be a line of clothes near the drinks stand.

"I'll get them" Emily instantly offered, noticing that Alison was making her way to the same clothes stand. The rest of the girls didn't notice this, and let Emily go to get them bikinis.

"Hey" Emily whispered to Alison, as the two picked out bikinis

"Which is a nicer colour on me" Alison asked, holding up two bikinis "The red, or the yellow?"

"Definitely the red" Emily told her "Red makes your eyes stand out" Alison raised an eyebrow, and Emily covered her mouth, not too sure why she had just said.

"Make my eyes stand out?" Alison questioned. Emily nodded.

"Y-yeah" she said "Wearing red makes your eyes l-look pretty" Alison smirked.

"Well bloody good job I'm in Gryffindor then" she joked. Emily laughed along with her.

"And what looks better on me" Emily asked "The green or the orange?"

"Definitely the orange" Alison observed "Orange is fierce"  
Both girls walked away at the same time, Emily clinging on tightly to her orange bikini and Alison to her red.

"And just who are you staring at?" Hanna asked Aria once the four girls had gotten changed and in to the hot tub, and Aria seemed to be staring into the distance grinning like an idiot.

"No one" she lied, blushing and fiddling with her fingers.

"Yes you so are" Spencer said. She followed where Aria's eyes had been looking, and was disgusted to find a shirtless Noel Kahn.

"Okay ew" Spencer diverted her eyes "Are you serious Aria?" Aria turned bright red.

"What, he's cute!" she argued. The rest of the girls stared at her in disbelief.

"He's a dick!" Hanna told her.

"In all honesty, I can't believe you two are even thinking about boys when we're only in our first year here and there's so many exams coming up and-"  
"Shut up Spencer" Hanna interrupted. Spencer bowed her head and pursed her lips.

"THE COUNTDOWN FOR NEW YEARS IS ONLY A MINUTE AWAY EVERYBODY" Eric Kahn shouted over the speakerphone. Everyone cheered in excitement, and made their way to the middle of the dance floor.

"Cheers to 2006" Spencer raised her bottle of butterbeer and the rest of the girls clinked theirs to hers. Emily suddenly spotted Alison standing alone near the edge of the dance floor. She couldn't help but feel guilty that she wasn't over there with her.

"Happy New Year" Alison mouthed to her, noticing that she had been blaintantly staring at the blonde girl.

"Happy New Year" Emily mouthed back, which made both of them smile at the same time.

"OKAY PARTY PEOPLE" Eric Kahn shouted again "THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!"  
Everyone cheered again, and started the count down to 2006.

"10!"  
"9!"  
"8!"

"7!"

"6!"

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"  
"HAPPY NEW-"  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

Before anyone could say happy new year, they had been cut off by a loud high pitched screaming. Everyone was curiously looking around, and a few sad party poppers went off.

On a hunch, Emily turned to look over to where Alison had been standing...and she was right. The blonde girl stood at the edge of the dance floor, panting and looking as white as Nearly Headless Nick. Everyone was looking at her now, and she seemed to look frozen with terror.

That was when, in a hurry, she sprinted out the door.

"Alison!" Emily called after her, not caring at this point what her friends were thinking. The whole room was silent. Without hesitation, Emily ran after her.

"Alison?" she called, as the found herself back in the corridors of Hogwarts. Leaning up against a wall was Alison, the colour completely drained from her face and looking almost on the verge of tears.

"Ali, what happened?" Emily asked, making her way over to her friend. She carefully put an arm round her shoulder and brought her head to her chest.

"You lied!" Alison panted "Y-you said that nothing would happen to m-me" Emily bowed her head shamefully, as this was not a lie.

"I'm here now" Emily told her "Nothing can get to you now. What happened, Ali?"

Alison stared numbly into the distance.

"E-Emily" she panted "I-I s-saw it" she was shaking now, and Emily put her other arm round her.

"Saw what?" she asked, dreading what was about to come out of Alison's mouth.

"I-it said it wants me" she said "I-it's after me, Emily. It spoke to me. I-I saw it. It was there"

"What was there?"

"You _know_ what was there"

It was true, although Emily didn't want to admit it. She knew exactly what Alison was talking about. One thing she knew for certain now was that they weren't even safe inside of Hogwarts. No one was-especially Alison, and that thought alone made her absolutely terrified.


	14. The First Secret

Before anyone knew it, Easter Break had rolled around. Most people, including Emily and Alison, had gone home for Easter Break. Alison was not looking forward to this, as she no longer trusted anyone in her household. Her brother Jason was locked up in his bedroom, as always, by himself probably studying. Alison sat alone in her room, fidgeting with her fingers and trying to figure out a way to talk to her parents. She still hadn't told them that she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin, and was getting more nervous every second that passed. Alison's mind was still on the necklace she had recieved from an anonymous source at Christmas, and she wondered who had given it to her and whether the 'B' in the middle really did stand for Black. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in" Alison replied to it. It was her mother, her bony slender face darkening the spirit of the room. She was dressed in long black robes and had leather boots on, that made her look like some sort of dark omen.

"Alison, darling" her mother greeted, almost half heartedly "I came to have a little chat with you. I was wondering how your time at Hogwarts has been so far"

Alison sighed. No 'It's nice to see you' or 'I'm so proud of you, Honey', just a plain and simple 'How's school'.

"It's good, mother" was all Alison could think to reply.

"Good?" her mother asked "I would've thought you might be able to come up with something a little more than just 'good'. How's Slytherin treating you? Do you like it?"

And there it was. The build up to the conversation that Alison had been dreading to have. She could've told the truth right there, told her mother that she had in fact been sorted into Gryffindor and actually, she loved it there. But she kept her mouth shut and bowed her head.

"Yes mother" she lied. Her mother beamed.

"Excellent darling!" she smiled "I simply adored my time in Slytherin. Although, of course, that was probably due to your father..."  
"Mum!" Alison interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest. Her mother laughed.

"I'm so proud that you are continuing the family legacy, Alison" she said "Who knows, you may even end up a prefect like Jason, and maybe even head girl"

Alison gulped guiltily. The thing is...she wasn't continuing the family legacy. She burned to question her mother about the things that Kreacher the house elf had said, but knew that once she said anything her mother would completely fly off the rails, so instead she just nodded her head. Mrs Dilaurentis pulled a strange face, as if to study her daughter's expressions.

"Alison, honey" she said in a hushed voice, offering her hand on Alison's shoulder "Is there something you wish to say?"

' _Yes_ ' Alison thought ' _There are a lot of things I wish to say, none of which I can. But on the contrary, mother, maybe there is something that in fact you should be wishing to say to me instead_ '

"N-no" Alison replied. Mrs Dilaurentis didn't look convinced, but forced a smile nonetheless.

"Alright then" she said, picking the end of her robes up and making her way towards the door "I am terribly glad that you ended up in Slytherin, dear. To have had a daughter in any other house would have been a disgrace"

And that was it. The moment that Alison knew she could not hold it in any longer. The moment she knew that she had to say something. In an instant, she pulled the necklace out from her pocket, and threw it down onto her bed.

"Mother" she called "What is this?"  
Mrs Dilaurentis turned around with a confused expression on her face. When she saw the necklace, her face turned pearly white.

"Where did you get this?" she hissed, swooping down to grab the necklace.

"That doesn't matter" Alison told her "What matters is this, mother. I know that you're keeping something from me and I know it's to do with this necklace, so whatever it is you better tell me right now or I swear to you, I-" Her mother raised her hand, and slapped the girl around the face.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" she boomed "How dare you speak to your mother that way, you foolish little girl. You don't know anything about anything, and you have the nerve to call me out on-"  
"Then tell me!" Alison insisted "If I don't know anything about anything, then tell me! Don't I have the right to know things about this family? I am part of it, after all!"

"There are things that you don't need to know!" Mrs Dilaurentis argued back "Things that no child should have to know about themselves until they are old enough to understand. Alison, there is a dark history in this family that an innocent mind like your own would be terrified to hear-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Alison yelled "I DESERVE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS FAMILY! YOU SHOULD TELL ME THESE THINGS. YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT THIS FAMILY HAS A DARK HISTORY, AND THEN NOT TELL ME WHAT IT IS! I KNOW TOO MUCH ALREADY, MOTHER, AND IF YOU DON'T TELL ME THEN IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I FIGURE IT OUT MYSELF!"

Mrs Dilaurentis sighed in defeat. She sat down at the end of Alison's bed, and put her hand over her daughter's.

"You're right" she said "Maybe you are old enough to understand, Alison, I haven't been entirely honest with you'

' _No shit_ ' she thought

"A while back" the woman began "There was a family called the Black's. They were dark dark wizards that did dark dark things, pure evil" Alison shuddered. She wished she had never asked her mother anything. Wish she had never said a word.

"Your grandma was around during the time that the black's hit a peak in the dark arts"

"Grandma Drake" Alison said, as if she knew where this story was going. Little did she know...

Her mother shook her head darkly.

"No" she said "Not Grandma Drake, Grandma Dilaurentis. Your father's mother"

Alison gulped. Hardly anyone ever spoke of Grandma Dilaurentis. She had been locked away in St Mungo's hospital a while ago. It was said that the old woman had gone completely criminally insane.

"What happened to her?" Alison asked. Her mother kept the same blunt expression on her face.

"She lived in the same neighbourhood as the Blacks" the woman explained "And Orion Black, one of the most notable Black members, took quite a liking to her" Alison shook her head.

"No" she said "You don't mean to say-" The woman nodded her head.

"No one knew about this, of course" she told her "Orion was already to be married to Walburga Black. Your grandma and Orion had their affair for years and years. No one could ever know, as your grandma was an outcast without a family, and no one would approve at all. Right before Orion and Walburga were to be married...your father was born"  
Alison's mouth dropped open. She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't want it to be true.

"W-what about the Dilaurentis family?" she asked "Surely they must have noticed something was up with grandma, surely they-"

"The Dilaurentis family didn't exist back then" her mother interrupted "Your grandma changed her name after the Black's started becoming darker and darker. There was a time when they were known as the most dangerous wizards in the world. She didn't want to be associated with them, or have anyone know about her and Orion's secret affair. So she changed her name to Dilaurentis and started this family" Alison was in shock. Everything she had known was a lie. Her grandma, the one no one ever spoke of, had the most history of all of them.

"Orion Black" Alison whispered "The father of Sirius and Regulus Black?" Mrs Dilaurentis nodded her head. Finally, what the house elf said was starting to make sense. Her father was the half brother of his master, Regulus Black, which made Alison herself his niece.

"Why did grandma not have a family?" Alison asked "Who were her family? What happened?"

Her mother's face turned even paler than it had been before. Whatever she was about to tell her daugher, she looked extremely skeptical about doing so.

"You remember the story of the Riddle's, don't you?" Alison nodded her head, her own face turning paler by the second.

"T-Tom Riddle was a muggle" she began "He lived in the s-same village as the Gaunts. There was a girl, Merope Gaunt, that f-fell in love with him. He d-didn't love her back, so she gave him a l-love potion. They're the parents of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" Her mother nodded her head.

"After Tom Riddle broke out of Merope's spell, he ran away. Merope Gaunt died in childbirth in the orphanage that she gave her son up in"

"But what's that got to do with Grandma?" Alison asked. Her mother bowed her head.

"What people don't know" she began explaining "Is that just before Merope's father, Marvolo Gaunt was put into Azkaban, he and his wife had another child. A daughter, Malia Gaunt"  
This time, Alison stood up from her bed with her head in her hands.

"No" she said "No, no this isn't true. You're making this up. It can't be...she can't be..."

"I'm afraid it's true" her mother sighed "Your grandmother, Mary Dilaurentis, is Malia Gaunt by birth. After Marvolo was arrested, his wife took Malia to be looked after by one of her friends near London, as she knew that she was dying and would not be able to take care of the child. After your grandma left Hogwarts, they were killed by You-Know-Who. Malia was left on her own, with no one in her life. That was, until Orion came along"

Alison felt as if the world had come crashing down all at once. She was related to the darkest most hated wizard of all time. Her own father was his first cousin. And her family had kept this a secret from her for her whole life.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" she was shouting now "All these years, I grew up not knowing that our family were related to the worst person to ever have existed!" Her mother grabbed her arm and tried to calm her down.

"You're over reacting, Alison" she insisted "It is not such a bad thing. This means you are a distant descendant of the great Salazar Slytherin himself, what an honour that is-"  
"I don't care about stupid flipping Salazar Slytherin!" Alison shouted "Don't you care that I have the darkest possible blood running through my veins? Doesn't that mean anything to you?"  
"How dare you insult Salazar Slytherin like that?" her mother hissed "How dare you insult one of the greatest wizards of all time! How dare you insult the founder of your own house..."  
"HE'S NOT THE FOUNDER OF MY OWN HOUSE!"

Both Alison and her mother stopped all moment at the same time. Alison couldn't believe what she had just said, the can of worms she had just opened. She waited anxiously to see what her mother would say.

"What do you mean, he's not the founder of your house?" she snapped "Of course he is, it's in his surname. If you are in Slytherin, you are in his house"

"I'm not in Slytherin" Alison said, almost too quickly. Her mother had a look of horror on her face. She slowly began backing up from her daughter.

"What do you mean, you're not-"  
"I'M NOT IN SLYTHERIN, MOTHER, AND MAYBE IF YOU HAD ACTUALLY ASKED ME AND CARED ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING BUT YOURSELF FOR ONCE THEN YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY KNOW THAT!"

Mrs Dilaurentis looked angry. Not only that, she looked frightened.

"What house are you in?" she asked calmly, and for a second, Alison thought that everything might be alright.

"I'm in Gryffindor"

"YOU'RE IN WHAT?" her mother was now yelling from across the other side of the girls bedroom "HOW DARE YOU BE PLACED IN THE ENEMY HOUSE? HOW DARE YOU-"  
"THE ENEMY HOUSE?" Alison questioned "ENEMY OF WHAT? THERE IS NO RIVALRY ANYMORE, MOTHER. THESE VIEWS YOU HAVE OF PURE BLOOD SUPERITY ARE ALL COMPLETE NONSENSE. ALL FOUR HOUSES ARE THE SAME, MOTHER, AND I'M PROUD TO BE IN GRYFFINDOR!"  
"NO DAUGHER OF MINE SHALL BE A DISGRACE TO THIS FAMILY LIKE THAT!" Mrs Dilaurentis yelled back "YOU HAVE DISGRACED OUR FAMILY NAME"  
"WHICH ONE?" Alison argued "BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT, I HAVE THE CHOICE OF FOUR. WHAT'LL IT BE, MOTHER? DRAKE, DILAURENTIS, BLACK...OR GAUNT?"  
Her mother walked slowly towards her. Alison pursed her lips and stared up at her.

"Get out" she hissed. Alison's face fell

"W-what?" she said "M-mother-"  
"I said" her mother repeated "Get out of this house. I don't want to hear you, I don't want to look at you, I don't even want to think about you. Get out of this house right now"  
A few tears welled up in Alison's eyes. She grabbed her trunk, which was still packed with all her things, and rushed out the door.

"Alison?" she heard her brother call "Alison, where are you-?"

But she wasn't listening. She wasn't listening to anything. She couldn't believe her mother had done this to her. Her eleven year old daughter, a disgrace to her stupid family and banished to the streets. There was only one place that Alison could think of going-only one person she thought of seeing. The only person she felt safe with.


	15. A Sleepover That Never Ends

Emily had just got home after her long Hogwarts Express journey. Her mum was downstairs and Emily was sat on her bed, fiddling with her fingers. She felt as if she didn't know what to say to her mum anymore. The two had barely exchanged letters during her time at Hogwarts, and for the first time since her birth Emily had not spent Christmas with her mum. Her dad was still away on ministry business, and Emily felt as if she was alone.

For some reason, (and she felt selfish for thinking it), she wished she had stayed at Hogwarts with her friends this Easter. She felt as though it would be less awkward, and she would have had more fun. What she really wanted was to spend Easter with Alison, but she had gone home this break. Emily wasn't sure why she felt herself gravitating towards Alison, but she felt as though they needed to talk about the things that had happened at Hogwarts in the last year. It would be an understatement to say it had been a strange one. It almost felt dangerous, knowing that there was some sort of dark hooded thing out to get her.

"Emily, honey!" her mum called from downstairs "Tea's ready!" Emily reluctantly picked herself up and dragged her feet down the stairs. Whatever her mum had made smelt good. Pam Fields sat eagerly at one side of the table, beckoning for Emily to sit down on the other, which she did.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" Pam told her, digging in to her spaghetti bolognase.

"You haven't" Emily replied, fidgeting at hers. There were things still on her mind from school. Things like exams, things like the hooded figure that seemed to be lurking around Hogwarts...things like Alison.

"I'm sorry about Christmas, Emmy, I just really needed to see your dad" Emily rolled her eyes at her mums desperate attempt to wriggle her way out of parenting.

"Yeah well what about seeing me" Emily snapped back. This made Pam awfully quiet, and she started eating her food again.

"So how are you liking Hogwarts?" she asked, trying to change the mood.

"It's great" Emily told her "Mum, I'm on the Quidditch team" Pam Fields nearly spat out her spaghetti when she heard this.

"Honey, that's excellent!" she beamed "How come you didn't write to me and tell me? This is big news!"  
Emily couldn't help but shift a smile at her mother, as her face flushed with excitement.

"They don't normally allow first years in, do they?" she continued. Emily shook her head."Oh, Emmy, baby, you must be such a talented flyer! What position do you play?"

"I'm a seeker" she told her. Pam looked thrilled at this news.

"The most important position!" she said "You know, I was actually a chaser in my day, but I always wanted to be a seeker. Oh Emmy, I'm so proud of you. I'll write to your father right now and tell him"  
Pam excitedly got up and rushed over to the kitchen where she started pulling out her stationary. Emily found it strange that she had just left her dinner in front of her, but wasn't surprised at her mum's desperate need to contact her dad. Emily continued fidgeting at her food, as she wasn't really hungry. She was still thinking-thinking about the events of this year. Alison was being strange about the hole 'hooded figure' thing, and avoided the topic whenever anyone was even remotly close to bringing it up. She couldn't help but worry about her friend.  
"Your father will be so proud" Pam said from across the other side of the kitchen Emily smiled. She loved it when her dad was proud of her. It wasn't as if she craved his approval, she just loved the feeling that somewhere in the world her dad was thinking of her and smiling.

"So, have you got any new friends?" Emily's mother continued the conversation. Emily nodded her head.

"Aria Montgomery and Spencer Hastings" she told her. Pam smiled.

"A Hastings?" she nodded her head "Bet she's a lot of work"  
"She's really nice" Emily told her. Pam looked nearly defeated in her attempt to make conversation with her daughter.

"Are they in Gryffindor too?" she asked. Emily shook her head.

"They're in Ravenclaw"  
"What about Hanna? Is she in Gryffindor?"  
"She's in Hufflepuff"

Pam looked skeptical.

"Do you have any friends in Gryffindor?" she asked. Emily had been avoiding talking about this.

"Yes" she answered "Alison Dilaurentis"

As expected, Pam's face turned a little sour.

"Dilaurentis?" she mumbled "I hear they have bad blood. Don't trust that girl, Emmy"  
There it was. The whole 'bad blood' topic that seemed to be revolving around Alison lately. Emily wished she knew what it was all about

"She's actually a really nice girl, mum" Emily argued "You'd like her". Pam looked skeptical.

"If you say so, honey" she said "I just want you to be careful" Her mother continued scribbling a letter to her father. She assumed that she had gone completely off topic and was now talking about the amount of shopping she'd done today and what was on TV this week.

There was suddenly a quiet knock on the door-so quiet that Emily almost hadn't heard it.

"Who on earth...?" Pam Fields wondered out loud "Emmy, honey, would you mind getting that for me?"

Emily reluctantly got up out of her seat at the table and headed towards the door. Nervously, she unlocked it and pulled it open. At the door stood the person that Emily had least expected to see at that moment. Her hair looked a mess and she looked as though she had been crying. The cold air was making her shiver and a trunk sat at her side.

Alison.

"Alison?" Emily said in disbelief "What are you...?"  
"C-can I come in?" she asked. Emily nodded her head instantly, and lead the small blonde girl through the door. She gave her a look as though to say ' _What on earth have you done this time, Ali_?'

"M-mum, this is Alison" she introduced. Pam looked shocked at the girl that Emily was now leading through the house. Alison gave a small sigh, but instantly bowed her head.

"It's nice to meet you, dear" Pam stiffed "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"  
"I'm sorry, Mrs Fields" Alison looked as though she were about to break down into tears "I-I had an argument with m-my mother. She t-told me to g-get out the house, s-so I did" Emily wrapped her arms around her friend and pulled her into a hug.

"I d-didn't know where else to go"Alison sobbed "I remembered Emily t-telling me she lived in this area, s-so I asked around and someone directed me t-to here" Pam's motherly instinct kicked in, and she looked extremely worried.

"You're welcome to stay with us for the rest of the holidays" she told her. Both Emily and Alison couldn't help looking extremely happy at this, and both looked at each other at the same time.

"Are you s-sure?" Alison asked "I d-don't want to cause trouble" Pam smiled, and for the first time since Alison arrived looked as though she was being genuine.

"Of course" she said "Emily's told me so much about you it'll be a pleasure to finally get to know you" Emily blushed. This wasn't entirely true, nor entirely false. "Here, let me go get you a blanket. You've come just in time for dinner- please, help yourself"

Pam quickly hurried off up the stairs to get Alison a blanket, and both girls sat down at the dinner table.

"Are you alright, Alison?" Emily finally got the chance to ask "Wht happened? What were you and your mum fighting about?" Alison started eating immediately. She hadn't eaten all day and was now starving.

"Em, I have a lot to tell you" she said "I confronted my mum about the Sirius Situation. A-and she told me some things that you're gonna wanna know" Emily looked extremely concerned, but intrigued at the same time.

"Not here" she told her "Not now. Wait 'til bedtime when we're alone, or else my mum might hear"

Alison nodded in understanding.

"You have no idea how grateful I am that you're mum's letting me stay here" she gently placed her hand over Emily's and Emily felt her stomach jolt a little.

"I'm just glad you're okay now" she told her friend. They both smiled.

"So I got you three" Pam came hurrying down the stairs, carrying a stack of blankets "You have a choice of red, blue, or purple"

Emily smiled. For the first time since she'd gotten home, she felt as though she really loved and bonded with her mother.

"Red please" Alison said. Pam draped the red blanket round the small girl's shoulders, as she held on to it tightly in an attempt to warm herself up.

The girls finished their spaghetti quickly, and soon enough it was dark. Pam made both girls some hot chocolate, which they took up to Emily's room and sat on her bed.

"Tell me now" Emily said "My mother won't hear. Tell me everything"  
So she did. She told her all about her grandmothers affair with notorious dark wizard, Orion Black. How she had changed her name to Dilaurentis, after originally being the unknown child of Marvolo Gaunt. How she had been put under the care of an orphanage not long after she was born. How she was, and remains to this day, the aunt of Voldemort.

"Oh my god" was all Emily could say afterwards "Oh my _god._ And no one in your family ever told you?" Alison shook her head.

"Not a soul" Emily's mouth was hanging open in disbelief.

"Oh my god" she repeated "Wait, so that makes you like, the first cousin once removed of the darkest wizard of all time?"  
"I mean when you say it like that..."  
"Oh my god, Ali!" Emily stood up from the bed and started pacing her room "This is huge! That explains why the house elf said you were the niece of his master. Regulus Black is your uncle!"  
"Was my uncle" Alison corrected "He's dead" Emily ignored her, and continued pacing her room.

"You know what this means, don't you?" she told her.

"It means a lot of things, Em" Alison answered.

"It means" Emily continued "This hooded thing that's out to get dark blood must think you're a perfect target. You have the combined blood of the two darkest families to ever live. You're a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself!"

Both girls gulped at this realization, and Emily sat back down on her bed next to Alison.

"One thing I do know" Alison said, darkly "Is that whatever that thing is, it's real. It's not just someone playing a prank on me. Something out there really can smell that I have dark blood, and is trying to get to me because of it"

Emily put her hand on Alison's and looked at her friend in the eyes.

"Hey" she said "I won't let anything bad happen to you. As long as I'm around, that dark hood thing might as well call it a night before trying to do anything to you"  
Alison grinned back, feeling a little safer knowing that Emily felt this way.

"I highly doubt you'll be any match for some dark mysterious all knowing omen" she laughed "But thanks anyway"

Almost as if it was planned, both girls laid down in Emily's bed at the same time, in an attempt to try and sleep.

"Anytime, Black" Emily joked, grinning at her own humour.

"That's not even funny anymore" Alison told her, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Fine" Emily said "Anytime, Gaunt"

She suddenly felt a large pillow being whacked at the back of her head, and responded by hitting one back.

"Goodnight, Dilaurentis" Emily finally said, switching her lamp off and closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Fields"


	16. I've looked everywhere for her

The Easter Break went by quickly. The girls had spent of the time having waterfights in the garden and watching TV. Pam Fields was getting warmer to the fact that her daughter was friends with a Dilaurentis, and was actually growing to like the other girl. She had taught her how to sew and how to catch the gnomes that lived in the garden. It was almost as if Alison was becoming a part of the Fields family, which Emily didn't mind at all. Late at night, the girls would sit up talking with a mug of hot chocolate in Emily's room. Not once had Alison's mother, or anyone in her family tried to contact her, or ask if she was safe or anything of the sort. It was as though they had completely forgotten about her. Nobody minded this, of course. Everyone in the Fields household was enjoying their Easter Break. They even went as far to think that it was one of the best they had ever had. The only thing that would have made it better, Emily thought, was if her dad could have been there.

However, it wasn't long before Easter Break had finished, and they were back at Hogwarts on their first night, and staying up late in the Gryffindor dorms.

"Em?" Alison called from across the room

"Yeah?" Emily called back, sensing a nervousness in her tone.

"I'm scared"

Emily didn't need to ask why. She already knew why. They were back at Hogwarts, which meant that Alison was still a target, only this time round she understood why.

"Don't be scared" she told her "Everything'll be fine, Ali, you'll be fine"  
"That's easy for you to say" Alison replied "You're like...the bravest person ever" Emily blushed slightly, although it was not visible in the dim lighting.

"I am so not" she told her "I just pretend to be brave to convince myself that I'm okay"  
"But you are okay!" Alison's voiced cracked a little, as though she were about to cry "You're not the one with some psychopathic hooded creature out to get you because of your blood. You don't _need_ to be scared-"

"But I am scared" Emily raised her voice a little "I'm scared for you! God dammit, Alison, if anything ever happened to you then-"  
"Then what?" Alison interrupted. The other girl bowed her head a little, and took a deep breath.

"You're my best friend, Ali. I would never forgive myself for not being able to protect you"

Alison's face formed a look of both shock and happiness. Emily had never called her her best friend before, and it was as if she was walking on clouds.

"I'm you're best friend?" she asked "You mean it? Not Hanna or any of the others-?"  
"They're all my closest friends" Emily told her "And I love them to bits, I really do. But you're special, Alison. You're my best friend and I love you"

Alison grinned like she never had done before. Nobody had ever told her that they loved her before.

"You're my best friend, and I love you too" she replied. Both girls smiled at one another.

"I promise to keep you safe" Emily said, laying down and blowing out the candle next to her bed "I promise to stick with you through this, no matter what. Do you promise too?"  
"I promise" Alison told her "We stick together, no matter what?"  
"Forever?"  
"Forever"

When Emily woke the next morning, Alison wasn't in her bed. She thought it strange that the blonde girl had chosen to wake up so early, as usually Emily was the one that had to force her out of bed. Her beds weren't made either, so if Alison had left then she had definitely left in a hurry. Sleepily, Emily changed into her robes and headed down to the Great Hall, thinking that Alison would be waiting for her at the Gryffindor table.

But there was no Alison.

"Hey guys" Emily said as she sat down "Have any of you seen Ali?"

The rest of the Gryffindors all looked confused and shook their heads."

"Not since yesterday" first year, Holden Strauss told her "Was she not in the common room?"

"No" Emily murmered "Nor the dorms"

"Maybe she's talking with a teacher" Toby Cavenaugh suggested. Emily glanced over to the staff table, and noticed that every single teachers seat was filled. If Alison was talking with a teacher, then she'd have to be wearing an invisibility cloak.

"What about the girls bathrooms?" Caleb Rivers said. Emily nodded her head, and without thinking ran straight to the girls bathrooms.

Alison had to be there, right? There was nowhere else she could be. And she wouldn't have left the castle...not after the conversation they had last night. Something wasn't right about this whole situation, and Emily knew it. She raced down the corridors to to the bathroom to try and find her friend. But when she got to the girls bathrooms, the only people in there were Mona Vanderwaal and Kate Randall.

"Have you guys seen Alison Dilaurentis?" Emily panted. The girls looked at each other and shared a laugh.

"She's probably in the lake with the rest of the hidious smily creatures" Mona spat. Kate laughed.

"I take that as a no then" Emily rolled her eyes.

"We haven't seen her" Kate said almost sarcastically "But if we do, we'll be sure to let you know"  
"Yeah, if she can manage to breathe out of water for that long"  
Emily left the bathroom and shot them both a dirty look, as the two girls laughed hysterically. She was losing hope in finding Alison, and was starting to get worried. It was then that the bell for first period rang.

" _Crap_ " Emily thought " _Hopefully she'll turn up to lessons, right_?"

But she didn't. Alison wasn't in a single lesson that they had that day, nor did Emily see her at lunch. After the bell that ended last period rang, she started becoming really worried.

"Have you tried Hagrid's?" Gryffindor first year, Shana Fring suggested as Emily sat chewing her pencil in the Gryffindor common room.  
"No" she replied "Why would she be at Hagrid's? And why would she have been there all day?"  
Shana looked embarassed, and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know" she admitted "I was just trying to help-"  
"Yeah, well you're not" Emily snapped. The common room fell silent and they all stared at Emily. With a flush of anger on her face, Emily headed out the common room to Hagrid's hut.

The air was surprisingly cold for an April weather. The freezing winds smacked Emily in the face as she stormed down to Hagrid's hut.

 **knock knock knock**

"Who is it?" the giant man called.

"Fields" Emily replied, knowing that Hagrid commonly knew students by their surnames. The door immediately flew open, and Rubeus Hagrid stared down at her with a smile on his face.

"Little Emily Fields!" he greeted happily "Now, what can I do fer you"  
"Have you seen my friend?" she asked him

"You have a lot o' friends" he replied "Which one migh' I o' seen?"  
"My best friend" she answered proudly "Alison Dilaurentis"

Hagrid's face fell a little.  
"Tha' Dilaurentis girl?" he questioned "Can' say tha' I have. Why, yeh lookin' fer her?" Emily nodded.

"She's been missing all day" she told him, her eyes welling up with tears "Oh, Hagrid, I've looked everwhere for her and I'm starting to get really worried and-"  
She broke down into tears, and Hagrid kindly offered her his large hand.

"There there, little-un" he murmered, gently patting Emily on the head "Don't cry, now. Tha's it. Yer friend is bound to turn up soon. People round 'ere always do"  
She wasn't too sure what that meant, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to know. She buried her face into Hagrid's odd smelling coat, and balled her eyes out.

"Would yeh like ter come in for some tea and scones?" Hagrid offered. Emily shook her head. She had tried one of Hagrid's scones before, and was lucky that she still had all of her teeth left.

"No thank you, Hagrid" she told him "I guess I better get back up to the common room. It'll be dark soon"

Hagrid nodded in understanding, but Emily noticed that he looked a little hurt at her not wanting to come in to his hut.

"Le' me know when yeh find yer friend" he told her, as she ran off back up to the castle.

The corridors of Hogwarts had never felt so long, as Emily ran up and down them. She knew that she wasn't going to find Alison there, but that didn't stop her from trying. She looked in every room with a door, and in every nook and cranny she could find. The only thing that stood out to her was the school's annoying poltergeist, Peeves.

"What is an ickly firsty like you doing wandering around the corridors at this time?" he asked, doing somersaults in the air and pulling funny faces.

"I'm looking for my friend" Emily stupidly told him "Alison Dilaurentis. Have you seen her?"

The poltergeist shook his head and stroked his chin.

"Is she the short one?" he asked "With the pink stripes in her hair and the tiny little feet"

Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"If you haven't seen her, you can go away" she told him, attempting to walk past.

"Or is she the tall one?" Peeves continued, while following her "The one that's always carrying books and doesn't stop talking about homework"  
"No, not her" Emily laughed a little, realizing that Peeves' description of Spencer was some-what accurate.  
"Or is she the chubby one" he questioned "That's always hanging around with little firsty Sean Ackard"  
"No" Emily told him "None of those. Now could you please get out my way?"

"Peeves was happy to help!" Peeves told her, swooping away to the castle's cieling.

Emily had given up hope. She felt sick to her stomach when she realized that Alison was nowhere to be found. She defeatedly headed back up to the Gryffindor common rooms, hoping that her friend had just been wandering about all day and had now decided to return to the common room.

But she hadn't.

"No luck?" Shana asked. Emily shook her head.

"What am I gonna do, Shana?" she asked "I mean, she can't have just gone missing. That's not the sort of thing that happens around Hogwarts-"

"That's exactly the sort of thing that happens around Hogwarts" Shana interrupted "She'll turn up sooner or later, don't worry about it Fields"  
Emily smiled at the reminder that Alison sometimes called her by her surname.

"I think I'm gonna head up to my dorm room" she told Shana.

So she did. She walked the stairs up to her and Alison's dorm room, getting more and more worried with every second at passed. Finally, she reached her dorm door.

It was then that she saw it. At first, she missed it. She wasn't sure how. Written across the wall of the Gryffindor common room in what looked to be a dark red blood were the words.

 _ **You're Never Getting Her Back - No One Ever Goes Here**_

It was as if the world had stopped. Emily's first thought was ' _Is that Ali's blood_?', but after a while managed to process what the message had said.

"Oh my god" Shana Fring was walking in the room behind her "Does this mean-?"  
"It means" Emily whispered "That Ali's been taken"

No one ever goes here? What the hell did that mean. She was too scared to think. Still trying to catch her breath, Emily raced out the Gryffindor common room and to the first place that she thought of going.

 **knock knock knock**

"Who is it?" Minerva McGonagall called from the insides of her office.

"It's Emily Fields" Emily panted, almost as if she was about to cry "Please, Professor, it's urgent"  
"Come in, Miss Fields"

Emily didn't just come in. She ran in. The Headmistress stood up in shock at the first years enthusiasm to see her. Emily's face was bright red and covered in sweat, or possibly tears.

"Whatever is the matter, child?" McGonagall asked her.

"Please, Professor" Emily started, attempting to catch her breath "Th-there's a student...note in the dorms...blood...Alison...missing...no one ever goes here-"  
"Maybe if you slowed down" McGonagall suggested "I might be able to hear-"  
"ALISON DILAURENTIS HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED"  
The Headmistress looked shook. Partly because of what Emily had said, but partly because of the way she had said it.

"What do you mean, kidnapped?" she asked, moving closer to Emily

"I mean" Emily continued "Alison's been missing all day and there was a note in blood in our dorm room saying that we're never getting her back. Please Professor, you have to do something-"

"If you please, Miss Fields" McGonagall was heading to her door "I would like to see this note myself"  
So Emily led her to the Gryffindor dorm room. Both of them were frightened and in a hurry, and when they got there Professor McGonagall stopped dead.

"Oh my goodness"  
The colour left her face, and she began backing away from the note on the wall. By now, all the Gryffindors had followed them and were now whispering at the writing. The Headmistress pulled out her wand from her pocket, and spoke into it as though it were a microphone.

"All students are to return to their dorm rooms immediately. All staff are to report to the Headmistress' office at once. A student has been taken"

There was an immediate crowd of buzzing from the Gryffindors. Everyone was panicking, and gossping instantly.

"Who's been taken?" Ian Thomas asked.

"It's Alison" Emily replied to him "Alison Dilaurentis"


	17. I liked you better when you were dead

Minerva McGonagall sat at her extremely large desk, wearing her extremely large glasses and holding her extremely large quill. It was times like these that she felt like just abandoning the position of the schools Headmistress, and running away to live a quiet life back in Scotland. However, nothing as extreme as this had happened since 1992, and she found it hard it hard to admit that she had absolutely no idea what to do.

She had told the students to return to their dorms, and for the staff to have a meeting in the Head's office. That had been what Dumbledore had told her to do the last time. The man hadn't even been there at the castle, and he knew exactly what to do straight away. She envied that.

"Having trouble, Minerva?"

Professor McGonagall looked up to see who had started speaking to her. Not to her surprise, the grand painting of the previous Headmaster was beaming at her and stretching his limps. Dumbledore was here.

"Evening, Albus" she smiled up at him. The former Headmaster nodded his head in a greeting way.

"Nice to see you, Minerva" he told her. The Headmistress almost laughed.

"You've been sat staring at me for the past 9 years, I daresay you're probably sick of seeing me by now" The painting really was grand and marvellous. It had captured dumbledore down to every last detail.

"However true that may be, it is still nice to see you once again"

Headmistress McGonagall smiled, and burned to ask him a question.

"Why now, Albus?" she asked him calmly "9 years you've been sat up there- why now have you decided to say something"  
"I see your struggle, Minerva" he replied simply "It would be a lie for me to say that I have not been tempted to give you a few tips here and there. But I had to let you do this on your own" The Headmistress leaned back in her chair and put her face in her hands.

"What do I do, Albus?" you could tell she was almost about to cry "I mean, you remember what happened with Ginny Weasley. What if this is like that again? What if he's back?" Dumbledore shook his head.

"You and I both know" he stated "That there is no chance of Voldemort ever returning to this earth. However, that is not to say that some form of the mark he left behind is not arising"  
"Dammit Albus, do you ever give straight answers?" McGonagall no longer looked sad, but almost angry. "I mean come on, if you had ever just said what you said straight to the point, then You-Know-Who could have been defeated years before he was"

"Call him Voldemort" Dumbledore told her "Fear of the name only increases-"  
"-fear of the thing itself" McGonagall finished "I know all that, Albus. That's all you ever said. Cryptic quotes and half hat clues. Poor Harry Potter was driven up the wall by how little you would tell him, and how you would tell him. He was a bright kid, he could've done something!"

"Harry Potter has nothing to do with this, for once I might add" Dumbledore argued. "Harry Potter has moved on from Hogwarts. He has a life now, with children and a wife"  
"Everything has something to do with Harry Potter" McGonagle pointed out "The wizarding world still exists as it is today because of that boy"

"He is no longer a boy, Minerva, you must remember that"  
"Whatever he is" McGonagle interrupted him "He is still Harry Potter. The boy who lived, the boy that defeated the darkest wizard of all time." Dumbledore calmly shook his head.

"But did he?" he questioned "It is no secret that Harry had help. From me, from you, from others around him. It was almost coincidence that he was the one chosen to kill Voldemort. We both know that he alone would not have been able to achieve such things" McGonagall sat at skeptically.

"What is your point here?" she asked

"My point is" Dumbledore continued "Is that anyone and everyone can do things with the right help, with the right knowledge"

"Did he have the right knowledge, though?" she questioned "Half of the things Harry should have known during his journey to destroy the Dark Lord, you were aware of. You could have done so much more, but you didn't"  
"Every second you spend dwelling on the past is a second of the present that you are missing, Minerva"

The Headmistress picked up an empty pot of ink, and angrily threw it at the painting. The former Headmaster didn't even flinch-he sat there with his hands in his lap staring at her.

"You know what's happening, don't you?" she said to him "You know exactly what's going on, and you know what's about to happen to. This is all just some big game to you, isn't it? You decide who gets to know what, and how things get to turn out. Well guess what Albus, you don't get to play God anymore because you're just a painting!"

The Headmistress' face had flushed a hot shade of red, and she caught her breath. Dumbledore didn't even look the slightest bit hurt. Infact, he looked amused.

"Anger gets us nowhere" he told her "And how can I possibly know what's about to happen, when I am simply just a painting?" McGonagall sat down, guilting fidgeting with her quill. She knew that he was right, but she just wanted someone to blame everything on.

"I never doubted your brilliance, Albus" she told him "I thought you were the most brilliant man that ever existed. But I know that you know more than you're letting on- you always do. So for gods sake, give me some sort of clue how to do this because I'm stuck" Dumbledore smiled, and stood up from the seat that he was sitting on.

"You've said it yourself already, Minerva" he answered "You know what's happening, whether you want to admit it or not"

"If I did, would I be sitting here talking to you?"  
"Yes"  
"It was a rhetorical question"  
"Ah, but aren't the most rhetorical questions the ones with the least rhetorical answers?"

"That doens't even make sense" McGonagall sat on the edge of her table, something she hadn't done since her own school days.

"Does anything?"  
"Oh shut up, you're doing this on purpose now" The Headmaster smirked.

"It's fun to pull strings, even from the grave" he admitted "But there's no time for games, is there?"  
"You tell me"  
"That Fields Girl" Dumbledore said, changing the subject "She's a fiesty one isn't she?"  
"I suppose" the Headmistress replied "But what's that got to do with Alison Dilaurentis?"  
"Almost everything" he said.

"You're just saying things for the sake of saying them now" McGonagall scoffed "Nothing you say even makes sense"  
"That's where you're wrong" the painting told her "You ought to listen to me, Minerva, for what I say could be quite helpful in the near future"  
"How is pointing out that Emily Fields is a 'fiesty one' going to impact the future?"

"The statement itself will not make a difference" he said "But what's in it will matter immensely"  
"You could just tell me what's happening" she said "You could tell me everything now and it could all be over. Are you this cruel on purpose?"  
"It is not cruelty" Dumbledore insisted "It is knowledge. Knowledge is power"  
"I think I liked you better when you were silent for 9 years" Professor McGonagall told him. "You can go back to not saying a word now. I don't need you"  
"I know you don't" he replied "You have all the knowledge that you need, you just need to apply it. That's the problem with this world. People don't apply their knowledge enough. If they did, so many more great things could be happening"  
"That's a bit hypocritical, don't you think" McGonagall said.

"But true, nonetheless"

"Everything you say is true, but none of it means anything"  
"On the contrary, it means everything" The old Headmaster said

"You know, if you didn't speak in metaphors and history book quotes all the time, you might have actually had some friends when you were alive" Dumbledore just smiled.

"I had a friend once, do you not remember?" the Headmistress realised almost instantly who he was talking about.

"Oh yeah, and wasn't he a ray of sunshine" she told him. For the first time since he woke up, Dumbledore looked offended.

"He had a brilliant mind, Grindelwald" he told her "But he didn't apply it in the right way. Merlin knows what great things he could have acomplished if he had applied his knowledge to the right things"  
"What does your little boyfriend have anything to do with me?" McGonagall asked.

"Maybe everything, maybe nothing. You decide"

And with that, the painting seized up again. Dumbledore returned to his usual position or a large green chair, staring calmly into the distance.

"Bye then" the Headmistress spat. But after it had sinked in that Dumbledore had once again faded away, a slight tear trickled down her face. Merlin knows she missed that man, however irritating he may have been at times. A brilliant mind like that would be really useful in times such as these.


	18. When You Love Someone

"No one ever goes here" Emily kept repeating to herself "No one ever goes here"  
"You've been saying that for over an hour, Em" Spencer worridly told her friend.

"Yeah Em" Aria agreed "Maybe you should stop worrying about her and letting the teachers do their job". Emily angrily slammed her books on the floor.

"Well they're not doing enough, are they?" she told them "For gods sake, what kind of magic school can't locate a missing girl?"  
"She'll be alright" Hanna insisted "They're doing everything they can and-"  
"Stop it! Stop it all of you!" Emily shouted "Stop pretending you all care just because she's gone missing. None of you even like her in the first place. She's my friend, so stop pretending you know stuff about her when you don't!" Without saying anything more, she picked up the books she had slammed on the floor and was angrily storming out the great hall.

"Dammit, Ali, where are you?" she kept asking herself. The corridors were surprisingly empty for an afternoon in the Hogwarts castle, mainly due to the fact that you were either allowed in your common rooms or in the great hall. The castle had gone on complete lockdown since Alison's disappearence. The only sound that could be heard was the echoing of Emily's own footsteps.

It had been 3 days since her best friend had gone missing, and to say that it was having an affect on her would be a complete understatement. Emily had barely been able to eat or sleep, and she spent most of her time sitting in the common room, wishing the Dilaurentis girl would just come back. What worried her the most was that she knew what had taken her. Or at least, thought she knew. She was the only person who know about the cloaked figure that had been after Alison since the beginning of the year. She hadn't told anybody else, as she knew the first thing they would say would be 'wHy DiDnT yOu TeLl Us BeFoRe?' and she didn't know whether she could handle all that crap.

"I understand what you're saying Professor, I just don't think you should be assuming the worst at this moment"

Emily heard the faint chattering of a teacher from around the corner of a wall. She crept closer to where the voice was coming from, and saw Professor Longbottom and Professor McGonnagall deep in a conversation that they obviously didn't want anyone else to hear.

"Think about it, Longbottom" she was telling the Herbology Professor "It's exactly the same thing all over again. The blood, the signs..."  
"I understand that it seems that way, Professor, but who on earth would do such a thing when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and any trace of him is completely gone from this earth? I mean, I should know. I was the one that destroyed the last horcrux" McGonngall rolled her eyes a little.

"I'm not saying it's him" she told him "May god have mercy on us all if its him. No, but doesn't it seeme exactly like that? Some fan boy Dark Lord wannabe?"

"I suppose it's possible" Neville nodded his head "But who, left alive, has any loyalty left to the that wicked man?"

"That's the probelm question" McGonnagall agreed "Most of his followers either died or ran away and changed their names. None of them I know of are still in the United Kingdom"

"It's clearly someone with access to the castle" Longbottom said "How would anyone else be able to get in in the first place?"  
"Don't forget Sirius Black, Professor. That man proved that getting in the castle is clearly not as hard a job as it is said to be" the Headmistress argued. Professor Longbottom nodded his head.

"I suppose you're right" he said "Shame Harry Potter ain't still here, eh? He and his little dream-team would have this cracked by now." Both teachers laughed, and Emily wondered how they could be laughing at such a time like this.

"Not a word of this to anyone, Professor" McGonnagall told the man firmly."If anyone found out we were hiding possible information about the girl-"  
"We'd be destroyed" he agreed "I do hope she turns up soon. That girl was starting to grow on me"  
Emily turned away from the wall, shocked beyond doubt. She couldn't believe that the schools very own Headmistress was keeping information secret. Although Emily wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, she was sure it was significant.

" _Something Voldemort's done before_ " she whispered to herself " _But not him. Not him"_

Her first instinct was to think like Spencer Hastings, and run to the library. She thought about going back to her friends, but couldn't face them after she had stormed off like that. The library wasn't too far down the corridor that she was currently in, so it was an easy walk. However, she was shortly stopped by an unpleasant face. Noel Kahn.

"Why hello there, little girl" he grinned down at her. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Make this quick, Chesire, I'm kinda in a rush"

"Shame about what happened to your little girlfriend, don't you think?" he told her.

"She's not my girlfriend" Emily replied instantly, her face flushing red "Don't you have better things to be doing than prowling the halls thinking of comebacks?" Noel laughed a little.

"I was just going to the Great Hall, Fields, what's wrong with that?"  
"Don't call me Fields" Emily insisted, edging closer towards the tall boy. " _Only Alison calls me Fields_ " she thought to herself.

"Whatever" he was walking past her now "I hope they don't find her, you know. You're a lot fiestier when she's not around"

She hated him.

The library was deserted much like the rest of the school. Not even the librarian had turned up today. Emily headed straight over to the V section of books title 'Non Fiction Magical History'.

' _Valley's of Giants, Veela-good or evil?, Vile Potions,_ Aha! _Voldemort-The Final Years'_

She hauled the book onto a table nearby, and started reading. However, just a few pages in she noticed that there was almost a whole chapter ripped out the book. The chapters went from ' _Attempted theft of Philosophers stone_ ', and then the pages were half there, half not. Drooping her head in her hands, there was only one thing she could think left to do.

"Spencer, come here for a minute" she had returned to where her friends were sitting, and Spencer Hastings followed her to just outside the Great Hall.

"What's wrong?" Spencer asked her "Is this about Alison?" Emily nodded her head.

"I need your help figuring out something" she told her "You see, I overheard McGonagall and Longbottom talking about how this all seemed a little like something He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had done before" Spencer was nodding her head at Emily's every word.  
"And I thought like you" she continued. Spencer smiled at this "So I went to the Library to research all the things that he had done, and I found a massive book full of them and-"  
"So you found it out?" Emily shook her head.

"There was a chapter ripped out" she explained "I thought it was weird at first. But then I thought, what if whoever or whatever took Alison didn't want anyone to find those pages, as it really was similar to something that Voldemort had done?"

"I like your thinking" Spencer told her "But how are we meant to know what that was?"  
"Well that's why I'm asking you" Emily said "The book was in chronological order, and the chapter that had been ripped out came right after a chapter titled ' _Attempted theft of the Philosophers stone_ '. I know how much you know about Voldemort, so I gotta ask, what was the next thing he did after the Philosophers stone thing?"

"The Chamber of Secrets" Spencer replied almost instantly "Obviously. The memory of his younger self kidnapped Ginny Weasley and took her down to the Chamber of Secrets. It was proper scary, actually, there was chicken blood on the- oh my god" Emily's face had lit up.

"That's it!" she exclaimed "That's where she is! The Chamber of Secrets! You're genius, Spence"

Emily hugged her friend excitedly "We need to get there right now"  
"There's only one problem with that, though" Spencer added "You won't be able to open the chamber unless you speak pareltongue" Emily looked confused and her excitement died down.

"Like snake speaking?" she asked. Spencer nodded "Well we're just gonna have to find another way in because I'm not leaving Alison down there any longer"


	19. Blood Is Thicker Than Water

"It should be right around here" Spencer said. The two girls were creeping down the corridors in an attempt to find the girls bathroom in which the entrance for the Chamber of Secrets was located. Eventually, they reached a small marble door and both went through without saying a word.

"It's wet in here" Emily said

"It's an abandoned bathroom, Em, it's not gonna be brilliant" Spencer told her

"I find that extremely rude"

Both girls looked suspiciously at each other, as neither of them had said this. It was then when a small ghost like figure drifted over both of their heads.

"Is that...?"  
"Moaning Myrtle!" Spencer finished "Spencer Hastings, huge fan..."  
"I prefer just Myrtle" the girl whined "What are the likes of you children doing in MY bathroom"  
"We're looking for the entrance to the Cha-" Emily started telling her.

"Emily!" Spencer stopped her. Myrtle smirked.

"Ooo the Chamber of Secrets" she giggled "Naughty naughty. What do you want with the Chamber of Secrets?"  
"We think our friend is down there" Emily told her. Spencer punched her lightly in the arm.

"Her friend" Spencer told Myrtle "My cousin. Have you seen anyone come through here?"  
"If I had, why would I tell you?" the ghost girl laughed. Both girls rolled their eyes.

"Because we think she might be in danger" Emily said. Myrtle started humming.

"No I haven't seen anyone" she told them. Emily and Spencer sighed. They were giving up hope now, and were about to exit Myrtle's bathroom.  
"Apart from that blonde girl" she then told them. Both girls turned.

"That's her!" Spencer said. Myrtle nodded her head.

"I did think it was a litle bit odd, you see. She was with someone in a big black hood" the ghost told them.

"How did they get it open?" Emily asked. Myrtle laughed.

"Parseltongue of course" she told them, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "That blonde girl whispered something, and the chamber opened". Emily and Sspencer were confused.

"Wait, Alison spoke in Parseltongue?" Spencer asked "That's absurd! Only decendants of Salazar Slytherin himself naturally know how to speak Parseltongue" Emily gulped at this statement.

"Don't ask me!" Myrtle shrieked "All I saw was the blonde girl whispering something and then both of them jumped down this big hole"

"Well do you know what they said?" Emily asked her. The ghost giggled.

"Know what they said? Of course I know what they said. I've seen this chamber opened more times than I could count. All you have to do is go up to the sink and whisper the words"  
"Which words?"

" _Hsuuuusa_ "

The words made their skin crawl. Myrtle disappeared as soon as she had said them, and Emily and Spencer crept towards a sink.

"Well?" Spencer asked "You gonna do it or am I?" Emily walked up to the taps on the sink, and traced her fingers over the slight snake pattern.

" _Hsuuuuusa_ " Emily whispered.

Almost instantly, the sinks started to part. Neither of the girls could believe their eyes as the shape of a large tunnel formed. It seemed to go on forever.

"You go first" Spencer told her.

"Why?" Emily asked.

"Your girlfriend" Spencer said as she shoved Emily hard on the back. And just like that, she was falling. She thought about what Spencer said on the way down. ' _Your girlfriend'._ Obviously she meant like, friend thats a girl, because that's what people called them these days. But then she thought about Alison's face, and her hair, and most importantly her smile, and she thought maybe she wouldn't mind Alison being her girlfriend. Actual girlfriend. Obviously this was just a thought, not a desire. Just a passing thought. It went away soon enough.

She landed with a thud on what felt like skin and bones. Not attatched to each other, but flailing around in separate pieces. Spencer landed next to her shortly after with the same sort of thud.

"Jesus, stinks down here" Spencer said. Emily agreed.

"Alison!" They both called "Ali! Alison!"  
"This can't be it" Spencer said after a while "In all the books, it says the Chamber of Secrets is a grand marble hall with patterns and snakes on the wall, not this smelly old snake graveyard"  
"Then there must be a door around here somewhere" Emily said "Got it!"  
She headed over towards a circular door over the far side of the room.

"Well?" Spencer egged on "Say something in Parseltongue!"

Emily repeated what she had said in the bathroom, and sure enough the circle door began to twist and open. Through the small gap that was the door, Emily saw a blonde girl lying helplessly in the middle of the floor, her arms and legs sprawled out either side of her.

"Alison!"

Spencer and Emily ran over to the girl, who still hadn't made a sound.

"Woah" Spencer awwed, looking around "This is it. The actual Chamber of Secrets. Look how beautiful it is!" Emily slapped her slightly.

"Hello, we can decor shop later!" she told her

"Not if you don't make it out alive" a sly voice whispered

A dark figure emerged from behind a statue. Both girls turned their heads. They couldn't make out its face, only that it was tall and cloaked.

"Who are you?" Emily demanded "What did you do to my best friend?" The figure cackled.

"Me? I didn't do anything! The stupid girl fainted a few hours ago" it told them.

"What do you want with her?" Spencer asked "Who are you!"

The moment of truth had come. The cloaked figure grabbed the sides of its hood, and pulled it down. Spencer was the one that gasped.

"I know you" she said, in an extremely frightened voice "You...you're..."  
"Spit it out, lovely"

"Bellatrix Lestrange"  
At these words, the woman cackled. It was the most chilling thing both of them had heard for a long time. Her hair was black and curly, and hung down to her waist now that it was out of the hood.

"I don't understand" Spencer said "You're dead! You died in the Battle of Hogwarts! You..."  
"Nuh uh uh!" Bellatrix interrupted "I was poofed! Poofed, did you know! To a tiny cloud of dust! But what old Molly Weasley didn't know was that that spell doesn't last forever, oh no. Takes a few years to wear off, but hear I am!" she laughed again.

"You were a Death Eater" Spencer continued "You were the one that destroyed Professor Longbottom's parents, you..."  
"I don't think I like her much" Bellatrix interrupted. She waved her wand in Spencer's direction, and just like that the Hastings girl fell stiff to the ground.

"Spencer!" Emily shouted instantly. Spencer's skin felt cold, and her eyes were wide open.

"You" Bellatrix pointed at Emily "You're Emily, aren't you? She's been talking about you. She said you'd find her, but I never believed her!"  
"Why did you take her?" Emily yelled "What do you want with her?"  
"Surely, you must have figured that out by now" The Death Eater told her.

"She has dark blood" Emily figured "She has Voldemort's blood" Bellatrix clapped her hands in a child like manor.

"Well done, well done!" She told her "A prophet once told me that the Dark Lords work would one day be restored and continued, by someone with his blood. I heard about your friends little backstory. She is the one. The one that will continue his work and get rid of mudbloods and muggles once and for all!"  
"You're wrong!" Emily told her "Alison doesn't have a mean bone in her body, she wouldn't never hurt anyone simply because of their blood status!"

"Oh dearie" Bellatrix laughed "Did I say anything about doing it out of choice? Of course you're only young, you wouldn't know anything about the unforgivable curses. But let's just say I could easily make your little friend do whatever I want, when I want"

"Well you'll have to get through me"  
Emily pulled out her wand, Bellatrix doing exactly the same thing. A few sparks few from Emilys wand, but Bellatrix blocked them. She then knocked Emily back onto the floor, and the small girl immediately started running to the nearest gap she could find.

"You can't run forever, little girl" the woman cackled "I've got your little friend right here"  
"Crap, Alison" Emily whispered to herself. Instantly, she turned back around trying to be a silent as she could. She came back to the clearing where Alison was, and saw that Bellatrix wasn't there. But Alison wasn't lying down anymore, she was sat bolt upright rubbing her head in pain.

"Alison!" Emily yelled, running towards her

"Emily!"

The two girls hugged in a heap on the floor, but the happiness was soon killed by the sound of footsteps.

"Emily, what is-"  
"There's no time" Emily told her friend, pulling her up to her feet, as she could hear Bellatrix getting nearer and nearer.

"Ow, Em, I can't walk" Alison discovered.

"Get on my back" Emily told her, without thinking.

"But-"  
"THERE'S NO TIME!"  
Alison did as she was told and climbed onto Emily's back. Her initial thought was that her arms were very muscular, but not in a middle aged body builder kind of way. In a toned young woman kind of way. She thought about what the rest of Emily's body might feel like, and wondered if she'dever get to know, and then thought that she wouldn't mind Emily being her girlfriend. Actual girlfriend. Obviously this was just a thought, not a desire. Just a passing thought. It went away soon enough.

"I know where the exit is" Emily told her. She was running, but obviously not as quickly as she could have been as she had Alison on her back. Bellatrix was running behind them, shooting different coloured sparks at them both.

"What about Spencer?" Alison asked. Emily stopped dead in her tracks. But she needn't wonder for long. There she saw Spencer Hastings on her feet, pointing her wand at the Death Eater.

"You're not the only one that can use that spell" the Hastings girl told her. " _Petrificus Totalas_!"

Just like that, Bellatrix fell stiff on her back, with no trace of life in her. Spencer ran towards the other two girls.

"Spence!" Emily called "I don't believe it! You were frozen! How did you...?"  
"Please, my sister's been using that one on me for years" she told them "I've studied how to control and get out of it" she looked extremely proud of herself.  
"Thanks, Spence" Alison gave a small smile to her cousin. Spencer didn't say anything.

"Look, I know we don't like each other" she finally said "But I'm glad you're ok. Really"

They both gave a small smile.

"Truce?" Alison offered her hand, still on Emily's back.

"Truce" Spencer agreed, slapping her hand "Hey why are you on Em's...you know what, I don't even wanna know. We don't have much time"

The three girls, Alison still on Emily's back, were running back through the Chamber as fast as they could until they reached the hole in which they had entered.

"How are we gonna get up there?" Emily asked.

"Please, I'm a Hastings" Spencer told her. She grabbed Emily's hand and with the other one, pointed her wand up at the hole. Sparks flew from her wand and in an instant, the girls were flying up the dark hole, thoughts of plenty racing through their minds.


	20. The Heart Wants

"That's absurd!" was the first thing that Headmistress McGonnagall said when the three girls burst through her office doors "Bellatrix Lestrange died in the Battle of Hogwarts"  
"That's what I said!" Spencer told her "But she didn't really die, she was just poofed. And now she's back"

"And you two, by yourselves, saved Alison? With no help?"  
Emily and Spencer nodded their heads, and Professor McGonnagall beamed.

"What you did was extremely dangerous-" she started

"They saved me, Professor!" Alison interrupted "They saved me, and-"  
"I didn't say that what they did wasn't noble, Miss Dilaurentis" McGonagall told her "On the contrary, I think what they did was extremely brave. Which is why I am giving them both 100 housepoints for their houses, and an extra 10 to Miss Hastings for the knowledge she provided"

Emily and Spencer smiled at each other. They knew that this amount of house points would tie both the houses for the house cup.

"I will be phoning your parents shortly, Miss Dilaurentis" the Headmistress continued.

"Don't do that" Alison asked her "Please. I don't want my mother knowing about this. Please Professor" The Professor understood, and nodded her head.

"You three better go and get cleaned up" she told them "The awards ceremony is starting shortly and we can't have you walking into the Great Hall looking like chimney sweeps.

The three girls headed to their dorm rooms, each had showers and changed their clothes. They met up outside the Gryffindor common room, and were surprised to see Hanna and Aria waiting for them.

"Em! Spence!" They both ran toward them and hugged their friends. Alison couldn't help but feel a little awkward- she knew that Emily's friends didn't like her.

"What happened to you guys?" Aria asked "McGonagall told us you went down to the Chamber of Secrets...?"  
"We did" Emily told them "It was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was the one that took Alison, the one that's been folling her all year"  
"I thought she was dead!" Aria said."She died in the Battle of Hogwarts"  
"That's what I said!" Spencer pointed out, yet again "But she was just poofed away. She came back a few months ago, and wanted to continue Voldemort's work"  
"What all that muggle and muggleborn killing?" Hanna asked, gulping. Spencer nodded her head. "But I'm muggleborn!"  
"We won't let her get to you" Emily assured. "Besides, how is she gonna do anything without 'the blood of the Dark Lord'" Everyone laughed. Alison hadn't said anything yet.

"We were so worried about you" Hanna told them "We've been waiting for you for hours"

"Yeah, and now I'm starving" Spencer pointed out "Come on, I can't wait to get to the feast"

Hanna, Aria and Spencer started making their way to the Great Hall, while Emily lingered back with Alison.

"It's okay, Em" she told her, looking a little sad "You can go"

"No" Emily said firmly. She ran after her friends, and grabbed them by the arm.

"How could you all be so rude to her?" she asked them "She was just kidnapped, and all you can say is how much you miss me?" Hanna and Aria shrugged.

"Sorry Em, but she doesn't really like us" Aria told her.

"Well I wanna change that" Emily said. She grabbed Hanna and Aria and pulled them back over to where Alison was standing. Spencer followed.

"I think there's something Alison wants to say to you all" Emily urged Alison on. The blonde girl looked scared.

"I'm really sorry, you guys" she said to them. They didn't look very convinced "I was so mean to you before for no reason, and that was completely unneccessary of me and I was being so stupid. I thought I was this amazing Queen B and that I had to treat others badly to be liked, but it wasn't until I was treated badly myself that I realised how much it can actually hurt people" Hanna, Aria and Spencer all bowed their heads.

"We're sorry too" Hanna said

"Yeah" Aria agreed "We wouldn't give you any chances after what you said on our first week here, and that wasn't fair of us. If I've learned something at Hogwarts it's that you can't always just people based on first impressions"

"And you did give a really shitty first impression" Hanna said. This made them all laugh, even Alison. Her eyes wandered over to Spencer, who hadn't said anything yet.

"I guess your the the only family member I got that doesn't completely suck" Spencer told her. This made them both smile "And you're not as mean as I always thought you were when we were little"

"Thanks, Spence" Alison smiled. "Again you guys, I'm so sorry. I actually think you guys are pretty cool" Emily was smiling at her friends. She was so glad that the two most important parts of her life no longer despised each other.

"Friends?" Hanna offered

"Friends" the rest of the girls agreed. They pulled themselves into a group hug, before all heading off to the Great Hall. All that could be heard was the sound of Hanna asking Alison 'Hey, are those Jimmy Choos? Ohmygod you havvvvvvve to let me borrow those'

McGonagall clinked her spoon against her cup.

"Welcome, students, to the last feast of the year" everyone cheered, including the teachers. "As you know, it is now time to reveal the winners of this years House Cup" Everyone cheered again.

"In 4th place, Slytherin with 3837 points"

Everyone clapped, even Slytherin managed a faint slap of their heads.

"In 3rd place, Hufflepuff with 4103 points"

All the Hufflepuffs were thrilled that they had beaten Slytherin, and stood up to give their house a clap.

"In 2nd place is Ravenclaw, with 5608 points"

"What?" Emily said, confused. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had definitely tied. She had been counting the points since the start of the year.

"Don't be upset, don't you know what this means?" Alison told her.

"And I am pleased to announce, in 1st place is Gryffindor with 5618 points!"

Everyone on the Gryffindor table rose to their feet and threw their hats into the air with joy. The banners hanging from the ceiling turned a deep shade of red with patterned lions embroided onto them.

"Now, without further adu, let the feast begin!"  
Almost instantly, mountains of food appeared on the tables. Emily decided that this would be her favourite part of every year.

"I don't understand" Emily said to Alison, digging in to a crispy rasher of bacon "Gryffindor and Ravenclaw should have tied!" Alison rolled her eyes.

"Don't get so noble" she told her friend "We won! That's the main thing. Maybe McGonagall added on some last minute points or something" Emily shrugged, as she supposed this might be true.

The feast was soon over, and everyone was packing their stuff ready for the Hogwarts express. Emily didn't really want to go home. She wanted to stay at Hogwarts with her friends, and now that Alison had joined their group she imagined that hanging out with all of them would be the funniest thing.

"I don't wanna go" Alison said, folding her robes and putting them into her case "I hate my family, and they hate me. Last time I saw them, my mum kicked me out the house"  
"Then stay with me!" Emily offered eagarly "My mum won't mind, really. She said you're welcome back whenever you want" Alison shook her head sadly.

"I can't" she told her friend "I need to patch things up a little. Especially with my mum. And I'd quite like to talk to my dad, really. He's not as pretentious as my mum, which is weird seeing as he's the one related to Voldemort and not her" Emily was sad by this, but she understood.

"But we'll see each other during the holidays, right?" she asked, hopefully. Alison shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know" she answered truthfully "My mum probably won't let me out the house, and it's not like you'd want to come to mine any time soon"  
"Says who?"  
"Says me. You wouldn't like it there. It's dark and cold and filled with souls"

"I'm sure it can't be that bad" Emily laughed. Alison shook her head.

"Oh it is" she told her "Trust me. Nobody should have to set foot in 12 Grimmauld Place if they don't have to"

The Hogwarts express had just arrived at the station. Everyone was boarding it, saying goodbye to each other. Not too far ahead of her, Emily spotted Professor McGonagall. She felt like she had to talk to her before she got on the train.

"Professor!" Emily called. The old woman turned around.

"Miss Fields" the Headmistress greeted "Shouldn't you be getting on the train?" Emily nodded.

"I just needed to know" she began "Do you think she'll be back?"

"Do I think who'll be back?" McGonagall asked. Emily sighed.

"Bellatrix Lestrange" The old woman's face fell a little. She brushed the dust off of her shoulders and straightened her hat.

"In my expierience, Miss Fields, the evil from our past always comes back to haunt us. But there is no doubt that good always wins"  
The Headmistress felt proud of herself for saying that. She felt as if it was something that Dumbledore would have said in that moment, and she suddenly felt herself becoming more and more like him.

"Thanks Professor" Emily said, before making her way back towards the train "Have a good holidays and see you in September"  
"You too Miss Fields" McGonagall turned around, and Emily did the same. However, something suddenly popped into the young girls brain

"Oh, Professor?"  
McGonagall turned back around.

"Yes, Miss Fields?"  
"I'm just curious" she started "How did Gryffindor get the win? I was sure that they were tied with Ravenclaw" this made the Headmistress chuckle.

"I had to deduct 10 points off of Ravenclaw shortly after you left my office, Miss Fields" she told her "That Montgomery girl had her skirt hitched up way too high for my liking"

Emily laughed.

"My mum said she could take us all to the Quidditch World Cup final this summer" Spencer was explaining, as the Hogwarts express was headed back to London.

"That's this year?" Aria asked. Spencer nodded.

"I love Quidditch!" Emily told them, like they didn't already know this.

"C-can I come?" Alison bravely asked. Spencer smiled.

"Of course you can come" she told her, giving her a nudge on the arm.

"Ohana means family" Hanna said "And family means nobody gets left behind or forgotton"

All the girls laughed at this. In fact, they spent most of the train journey home laughing. They all looked forward to their second year at Hogwarts, and to the Quidditch World Cup final. Eventually, they reached Kings Cross Station and all had to say their goodbyes.

"Don't miss me too much" Hanna told them, as she ran over to her mum and gave her friends a wave.

"We won't, trust me" Spencer called after her, before making her way over to her own parents. The Hastings gave Alison a small wave, before heading out the station and home.

"See ya guys" Aria said with happiness in her tone, making her way over to her parents and little brother. That just left Emily and Alison standing alone on the steps.

"My mum's over there" Alison told her. Emily sighed.

"I'll miss you" she told her

"I'll miss you too" and the girls hugged. Alison was making her way towards her mum, when Emily suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Ali?" she called at her. The blonde girl turned around with a "Yeah?"

"On Halloween when I caught you sneaking out, you were telling me something"  
"I was?" Alison asked, confused.

"Yeah. You were telling me why the hat sorted you into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin, but you never finished. What was it?" Alison laughed a little

"Oh, that was only something stupid" she told her "It told me that 'Gryffindor held my hearts greatest desire'. No idea what it means.

Emily looked confused as Alison met her mother. Gryffindor did hold her hearts greatest desire. She had no idea.

-End of Year 1-


	21. End of Year 1

-Hey Guys! So that was the end of Year 1, hope you liked it. Will be continuing with Year 2 shortly, and will post it on the same story as this one so they'll all be in the same place-


	22. You're Worth Saving

**Year 2**

 _"Get away" Alison was pleading "Please, please I can't take this any longer"  
She was sitting at the top of the highest tower in the castle on the hill. The dragon was in the room with her. It was getting nearer, nearer still, its fiery breath making her sweat more and more every second._

 _"I need your blood" the dragon was saying. Its scales were emerald green, but it had hair. Long frizzy black hair, and the face of a woman. It was atleast 15 times the size of Alison herself._

 _"No you don't" Alison told it "Take someone else's blood, please! Not mine"  
"I can't take anyone elses" the dragon insisted "You know I can't. Your blood is special. It's valuable. It's wanted" Alison struggled against the ropes, but they didn't seem as though they would budge any time soon._

 _"Please, don't" Alison begged "I can't take this. I don't want this anymore. Please..."  
"But I need you" the dragon snarled. Alison shook her head, still struggling against the ropes._

 _You don't need me, you don't want me, nobody wants me..."_

 _"We both know that's not true" the dragon interrupted, it's sharp teeth reflecting light into Alison's pale blue eyes. It was then that the dragons personality changed. It looked as if it had calmed down a little. Fire had stopped comnig from its mouth and nostrils, and its previously hanging frizzy black hair was scraped back in a bun. It was now wearing tiny spectacles._

 _Alison was almost crying now, but she wouldn't give in. Not just yet._

 _"I don't know what you're talking about" Alison insisted "Please, just let me go, let me go"_

 _"You can leave any time you want" the dragon said "It's up to you, it's only ever up to you"_

 _Alison thought it was sounding a little like a therapist now. But she had to remember, it was still a dragon. Still a monster._

 _"Why have you trapped me here?" she asked the dragon. She realised it had stopped edging towards her now, and was now circling the pole she had been tied to like a shark circling its prey. The dragon didn't say much. It laughed._

 _"I didn't" it said "You trapped yourself here, Alison. You know that"  
"I'm not trapped anywhere" Alison said "Just let me go, ok? I'm not scared of you"  
"Yes you are" the dragon said "Stop ignoring what's right there in front of you"_

 _"There's nothing in front of me" Alison argued. But suddenly she blinked, and there was._

 _Emily was standing right in front of her, only she wasn't dressed like Emily. She was dressed in a suit of armour, and was holding a sword in her right hand._

 _"Alison, oh my god!" she said, attempting to cut open the rope with the sharp end of her sword. The dragon was getting angry now, and was breathing fire in their direction._

 _"Emily, what are you doing here?" Alison asked her. Stupid fucking question, she thought afterwards._

 _"I came to save you" Emily replied, pulling the last of the rope off of her friend._

 _"Why?" Alison asked. Emily took her hand._

 _"Because I wanted to" was her reply. The two girls headed towards the metal door over the other side of the room, but the dragon had other ideas. It's hair was back to being hanging and frizzy, and its spectacles had disappeared._

 _"You're not going anywhere" it told them, flames leaking from its nose._

 _"Let us go!" Emily demanded, jumping in front of Alison and holding the sword up towards the beasts face._

 _"Why should I?" the dragon asked her. Emily poked her sword in the air._

 _"Because I've come to save her" was Emily's reply. What kind of fucking reply was that, Alison thought. But the dragon stopped breathing fire, and sat down patiently._

 _"Very well" it told them, and waved its hand towards the direction of the door. In an instant, the door swung open and the two girls ran out of it as fast as they could, not letting go of one another._

 _"That was close" Emily panted, as they reached a large tree outside the castle. Alison too was panting._

 _"You saved me" Alison smiled. Emily smiled back._

 _"You're worth saving" Emily replied. No one said anything more from then. Emily's hand was now on Alison's cheek, and she was moving closer towards her. Alison moved closer too. Emily leaned in, their faces were so close when suddenly..._

"Wake up, crapface"

It was Jason. He had thrown a pillow at his sisters face, and she was now awake in her bed.

"What was that for?" she asked, rubbing her head. The pillow hadn't actually hurt her head, but she felt as though being dramatic was the only way she was gonna win whatever this argument was about to be.

"You gotta get up or we're not gonna get a good spot" he told her. Alison knew exactly what he was talking about. It was the Quidditch world cup final today- France vs Burkina Faso.

"Everyone thinks that" Alison told him "So in the end, everyone just ends up getting there at the same time anyway" Jason rolled his eyes.

"Well mom told me to wake you up, don't shoot the messanger"

Alison absently climbed out of bed and into her clothes, but she wasn't thinking about the Quidditch game. Heck, she didn't even know where Burkina Faso was. All she could think about was that stupid dream. About that strange tower that somehow looked oddly familiar, about the dragon that switched back and forth from a raging monster to an intimidating therapist, and about Emily...most importantly about Emily. And about the end of the dream. Had she really almost...?  
-

Emily woke up early. Naturally, she supposed. She'd been having the weirdest dream. Something about a dragon and a tower, and she could've sworn she'd seen Alison there somewhere. Oh well, didn't matter- was just a dream that she didn't remember.

"If you haven't got your ass dressed in the next 60 seconds we're leaving without you" Hanna shouted at her. Emily laughed. It was the Quidditch World Cup final today, and her mom were travelling with Hanna, seeing as her own mum was a muggle and couldn't physically attend the event. They were meeting Aria and Spencer there, as they were also travelling together. She was almost certain that Alison was going to be there, only she didn't have any confirmation as Alison wasn't allowed to contact anyone over the summer. It was unfair, she thought, as they were the ones that told her to leave the house anyway. Her moms excuse was that she had 'only meant for Alison to leave for a few hours, not a few weeks'. Pathetic.

"Right, it's been 60 seconds, we're heading the fuck off-"  
"Hold on" Emily sighed, finishing tieing up her shoelace and grabbed onto Hanna's hand.

"How long a drive is it to this portkey, mom?" Emily asked her mom as the three of them were heading out to the cup.

"Only a couple more miles" her mom told her "There's a parking lot in the park nearby we'll leave the car at and-"  
Emily stopped listening once she realised that she didn't care. She didn't know why her mum was telling her all this pointless information about where they were going to leave the car. Her mum had started talking to her a lot more since the easter before, but not in a loving mother kind of way. Almost like she was scared not to tell her anything, and so felt the need to bring up the stupidist pointless things when they engaged in any sort of conversation.

"We're here, we're here!" Hanna was bouncing in her seat excitedly. Indeed they were. Emily spotted Spencer's moms car a little way up the lot, and saw the family not too far from the car itself.

"I see Aria and Spence!" Hanna told her, even though she already knew.

"Do you girls wanna get out the car while I park up?" Emily's mom asked them, although not really saying it like a question.

"Sure" Emily mumbled back. They got out the car and headed towards where their friends were standing.

"Han, Em, over here!" Aria was waving at them now. Everyone had Quidditch World Cup final nostalgia.

Mrs Hastings looked like a scary woman. The kind of woman that you would expect to make serious decisions in court, the kind of woman you would expect to join the muggle school PTA and scare the rest of the moms.

"Your the Fields girl" she greeted Emily, if you could call that a greeting. Emily was used to being called the Fields girl, as most adults knew her father and knew her only as the spawn he had created.

"Nice to meet you Mrs Hastings" Emily gave a small smile.

"And Hanna, the muggleborn?" Mrs Hastings questioned. Spencer nodded, clearly embarassed. Hanna didn't say anything back.

Mrs Hastings expression suddenly changed. She looked a mixture of pissed off and scared, and had turned her head in.

"Don't look" she hissed to the girls.

"Look at what?" Spencer asked. Naturally, all of the girls looked. Emily was glad she did.

Alison Dilaurentis was walking towards them in the company of her mom, dad, and a tall boy, assumingly her brother Jason.

"Jesus Christ, mom" Spencer whispered. She smiled towards the Dilaurentis'.

"Veronica" Mrs Dilaurentis snarled as she headed towards them.

"Jessica" Veronica snapped back, but in a civilised manor. It was plain to see that there was some sort of dark history between these two families. Something very dark.

"Hey Fields" Alison greeted her friend with a smile. Emily smiled back.

"Hey Ali" she replied. Alison stood smiling at her friend. She was standing close to her, almost as close as in the dream she'd just had. But not that close...not yet.

"I didn't know you were coming" was what Alison thought to say.

"Quidditch is my favourite thing in the world, I would have killed my mum if she hadn't let me come" Emily replied. The two girls laughed. Pam Fields could now be seen heading towards the crowd with a beaming smile on her face.

"Hey!" she greeted "Should we start heading towards the port key?" Nobody said anything, but again Pam wasn't really asking it in a question-like tone. Everyone was now walking towards the port-key.

"So I heard we start doing herbology this year" Hanna started saying. Everyone groaned.

"That's gonna be the biggest waste of my life" Aria complained. Everyone agreed.

"Oh come on you guys, I bet it won't be that bad" Hanna argued. Spencer scoffed. Hanna really was a typical Hufflepuff girl.

"Professor Longbottom's a great teacher, apparently" Alison told them "So who knows"  
"I know!" Spencer complained "Herbology is like studying vegetables and writing about them"  
"But they're not just vegetables!" Hanna was still defending her case "Some of them scream, and cry, and do funny stuff and-"  
She was interrupted by a small shriek. Alison had slipped, only slightly, but the mud underneath her was slimy and thick and she had almost landed head first, when an arm grabbed her.

Emily's. Of course.

She pulled her friend onto her feet, while the rest of her friends laughed.

"You saved me" Alison laughed, jokingly.

"You're worth saving"

And they both smiled.


	23. Wild Ones

"Here's a good spot!" Pam Fields called, calling the rest of the party over. Without asking for their approval, she threw the tent down onto a wide open area on the field and began setting it up.

"Why don't you girls go buy some food from the stall" Veronica Hastings suggested to Hanna, Emily, Spencer and four girls nodded in unison.

"I hope we got good seats" Hanna hoped "I truely don't want to miss a second of this game!"  
"Of course we'll get good seats" Spencer scoffed "My mum has an in with the guy incharge of it all. We've practically got the best seats in the house"

"We're all supporting France, right?" Emily asked for confirmation, and was happy when her friends all nodded.

"They're gonna win for sure" Hanna told her "They're much better strategically than Burkina Faso, and their players are alot younger. It's almost a sure thing"  
"Might as well go home then"

None of them had said this, and sure enough, Alison had joined the group in which they were walking.

"Hey Alison!" Aria greeted. Emily smiled. She was so glad that her friends liked Alison now, even if they had never really had a conversation with her.

"Hey guys" Alison greeted back "You got your tickets?" They all nodded.

"So what team you supporting, Ali?" Hanna asked eagerly.

"Well my family have all bought Burkina Faso scarves" she told them. Hanna frowned "But I snuck off and went and bought a French one"

All the girls smiled and high fived her.

"Where are you and your family sitting?" Spencer asked. Alison pointed up towards the highest seats in the stadium.

"They're pretty good seats" she told them "My mum's got an in with the guy that organizes all this-"  
"Ooooh that's right" Spencer interrupted "It's my mum and your mums great uncle Claudius. My mum has the same in"

"I don't like that guy much" Alison admitted. Spencer chuckled.

"Neither do I"

"I'll see you guys later then" Alison called as she headed back towards her family "Or at Kings Cross I guess"

"Later cousin" Spencer waved.

"See ya Ali" The rest of them said one after the other. It was at that moment that they heard a horn. A horn so loud that it almost burst their eardrums.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF I COULD PLEASE ASK YOU TO PROCEED TO YOUR SEATS. THE GAME IS ABOUT TO START!"

The party shuffled down their row with caution, trying not to fall over the edge of the tight squeezed balcony.

"Jeez, these really are the best seats!" Hanna awed, pulling out her omnioculars and trying to catch a glimpse of the team warming up.

"I don't like heights" Aria shivered "What if we fall?"

"We won't fall" Spencer assured her "And even if we do, they got safety mats round the edge of the pitch just in case"

"Like its happened before?" Emily questioned, now looking kinda nervous.

"Hey shut up you guys the games starting!" Hanna suddenly shouted. And so it was. Red white and blue fireworks were suddenly bursting from every direction imaginable, and flags were being waved in a frenzy. Emily glanced down at her own french red white and blue scarf, and sincirely hoped that her team would win.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE 2006 FRENCH QUIDDITCH TEEEEEEEAM!"

"WOOOOOOOOO" could be heard from the top box. Everyone Emily knew was supporting France.

"HERE WE HAVE THE TWO FRENCH BEATERS, JEREMY AND GREGORY MONCLAIR!" Two muscular men flew into the arena, punching their fists in to the air and sprinkling red white and blue dust everywhere. Everyone cheered.

"THEY'RE SO CUTE!" Aria shouted above the noise.

"I KNOW!" Spencer shouted back.

"I'LL HAVE JEREMY, YOU HAVE GREGORY!" Aria told her, giving her best friend a high five.

"NEXT INTO THE ARENA ARE OUR CHASERS, CHARLOTTE CROUTON AND BENJI ST PIERRE!" Everyone cheered again as a ginger woman and a man with light brown hair came flying in to the arena. They too sprinkled dust all over the audience, and Hanna did her best to try and catch some.

"FRENCH KEEPER, JACKSON CRIEF!" a large man with thick black hair flew on to the arena.

"AND FINALLY, OUR YOUNGEST PLAYER ON THE ARENA TODAY, FRENCH SEEKER GABRIELLE DELACOUR!"  
Gabrielle Delacour was small and blonde, and when she entered the arena there was a wave of wolf whistling.

" _Jesus, she's pretty_ " Emily thought, staring into her light blue eyes. It seemed almost as if she was being pulled into a trance, until there was a loud voice coming from the speakerphone.

"CAREFUL FOLKES, SHE'S PART VEELA!"

" _Shit_ " Emily thought. Veela's meant danger. Terrible emotional danger.

Shortly after, the Burkina Faso team were introduced with a wave of cheers from the stands, and the game had begun. The quaffles were flying back and forth between teams, and the whole crowd had their eyes fixated on the ball. It was much to their dismay when the Burkina Faso chaser launched it into the largest hoop, the French keeper only just failing to save it.

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" Hanna screamed. The score was already 10-0 to Burkina Faso.

The game had been going on for almost an hour now. The score was 70-0 to Burkina Faso, and nobody was happy about it. Emily decided to pick up her omnioculars and scan around to see if she could see anything interesting, as this game was proving to be a gigantic bust.

Sure enough, over the other side of the arena, was Alison. She too was holding her great big omnioculars, and the two found themselves looking directly at each other.

Alison smiled. That kind of smile when you know everything's gonna be alright. A smile as if to say 'France are gonna pull through, and this year's gonna be awesome'. And that smile alone was enough for her to believe her. Emily pulled a funny face back, causing Alison to laugh. Alison did the same thing, and Emily laughed. Emily was about to pull another one, when-

"Hey, who you looking at?"

Emily dropped her omnioculars and turned to her right. Sitting next to her was a moderately short girl with raven hair.

"What?" was Emily's initial response. She put her omnioculars down to her side.

"I saaaid, who you looking at?" the girl asked. Without asking, she picked up Emily's omniocular and brought them up to her face.

"Hey, give those back!" Emily tried snatching them out the girls hand, but she was having none of it.

"Relax, I just wanna have a look! This game's boring the crap out of me, I need a bit to laugh at"  
She pressed a button on the top of the omnioculars to focus on the last thing Emily had been looking at.

"She's pretty" the girl said "Who is she?" Emily snatched her omnioculars back and put them in her bag.

"My friend Alison" Emily told her, disliking this girl more and more by the minute.

"Oooooh, Dilaurentis" the girl said, rolling her head back "Thought she looked familiar. She's the one that got kidnapped last year. I've seen her a couple times around the castle"

"You go to Hogwarts?" Emily asked. She had never seen this girl before. Surely if she went to Hogwarts she would recognise her.

"Yeah I go to Hogwarts" the girl responded "You're Emily, right? Your the girl that saved her"

Emily nodded. She found it weird that this stranger ultimatly knew her as "The girl that saved Alison Dilaurentis"  
"That's me" she admitted. "How come I've never seen you before?" The girl laughed.

"No one really notices me much" she shrugged "I'm kinda invisible. It's pretty hard, being in Slytherin and not being a dick" Emily was shocked. This girl was in Slytherin? She seemed way too-well-normal.

"I'm in Gryffindor" Emily told her proudly.

"I know" she responded "You seem like the type. Brave, and all that" Emily smiled.

"So what's your name, invisible Slytherin girl?" she asked. The girl held out her hand, offering Emily to shake it.

"Maya" she told her "Maya St Germain"

Alison noticed that Emily had put down her omnioculars, and was talking to some dark haired girl that was sitting next to her. She didn't recognise the girl, so she assumed that she didn't go to Hogwarts. But they seemed to be laughing, and Alison couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"Hey, Jason" she nudged her brother, who was busy cheering at another goal Burkina Faso had scored.

"What?" he answered bluntly. Alison handed him her omnioculars.

"Does that girl go to Hogwarts?" Jason screwed his forehead and stared deep into the omnioculars.

"Yeah, she's in my house" he told her. He put emphasis into the words 'my house'. "Why?"  
"Just wondering" Alison grumbled, snatching the omnioculars back from her brother. He slapped them out of her hand.

"Aw, is someone jealous that their only friend has another friend?" he said in a baby voice. Alison slapped his chest.

"Shut up" she hissed "No, that's not it. I just...I don't know"

"WOOOOOOO" Jason was cheering again loudly in her ear. It was 130-0 to Burkina Faso.

Things were not looking good.

"This is the worst Quidditch game I've ever watched in my life" Hanna mumbled, putting down her French flag. She crossed her arms in anger.

"Your friends really into this shit, isn't she?" Maya St Germain asked Emily. Emily nodded

"She treats it as a lifestyle" Emily told her. Both girls laughed.

"We can't give up hope" Maya insisted "Don't lose faith in them. There's still a-"  
"HOLY FUCKING BLOOMING BLOODY FUCK SHITTING DICK STICK!" Hanna suddenly screamed. Emily realised that the whole stadium were shouting, including the man over the speakerphone.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" he shouted "FRENCH SEEKER, GABRIELLE DELACOUR, HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! FRANCE WIN!"

The crowd had gone wild. Hanna was almost crying, and there was not a single French supporter still sat on their seats.

"WE WON WE WON WE WON WE WON!"

"I would like to make a toast to Gabrielle Delacour, for being such a fucking amazing seeker!" Hanna said. They were all back in the tent, and the four girls were sat in a bunk room drinking bottles of butterbeer, and Alison had snuck in to join them.

"I'll toast to that" Spencer joined in, raising her bottle.

"Me too" Alison followed. Emily and Aria soon did the same.

"And here's to another fantastic year at Hogwarts!" Hanna continued "Hopefully no one gets kidnapped this time!"  
"And hopefully if they do, it'll be you!" Spencer toasted. Hanna whacked her with a pillow.

"Here's to making through first year in one piece" Alison raised her bottle. The rest of them followed. The night soon died down, and everyone had fallen asleep. Everyone but Emily and Alison, who were about to walk together back to Alison's tent.

"That girl you were talking to today" Alison bought up "Who is she?"

"You mean Maya?" Emily asked, fiddling with her hands.

"If that's the girl you were sitting next to, then yeah" Alison said. Emily shrugged.

"I just met her today" she told her friend "Apparently she's in our year at Hogwarts. She's in Slytherin" Alison chuckled.

"Slytherin, eh? Look at Emily Fields making friends with the wild ones" Emily punched her on the arm.

"Hey, just because she's a Slytherin doesn't mean she's a wild one. You were almost a Slytherin, remember?" Alison nodded almost painfully.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing" she said, reaching her family's tent "Just don't start getting tattoos and piercing your face" Emily laughed.

"Promise I won't" she told her best friend. Both girls smiled.

"Night Fields"

"Night Ali"


	24. Turning Saints Into The Sea

"Okay so, would you rather have to eat only potato salad for the rest of your life, or have no hands"

The five girls were sat in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, on their way to Hogwarts. They had not yet changed into their robes, and were sitting around eating junk food.  
"Hanna that's a dumb question" Spencer rolled her eyes, like she did almost every time words came out of Hanna's mouth.

"No hands, definitely" Alison told her. Spencer rolled her eyes even further.

"Thank you, someone has a brain" Hanna flicked Spencer's forehead.

"Obviously" Alison continued "There's no way I'm giving up fried chicken anytime soon, even if I do have to eat it with my feet" Everyone laughed

"I'd eat the potato salad" Aria said. Everyone glared at her.

"You insane?" Hanna shriekd "Potato salad tastes like blisters. And with having no hands, you could always get prosthetics anyway-"  
"I like my hands!" Aria protested "I don't think I would be able to live without writing in my journal, and creating stories"

"But potato salad, really?" Emily asked "Hanna's got a point-it is like the worst food in the entire world" Alison agreed with her.

"Fine, I'll change the question" Hanna moaned "Eat potato salad for the rest of your life, or have no hands AND feet"  
"Bye bye potato salad" Aria cringed "Imagine not having any feet"

"It would be better than not having any hands" Alison said "No one would ever see that you have prosthetics"

"Anything from the trolley dearies?" The witch with the trolley suddenly walked past their door.

"I'll have two chocolate frogs and a Liquorice wand" Spencer handed the woman a few coins.

"3 cauldron cakes please" Hanna asked.

"Aw, shit" Spencer suddenly said, holding up what looked like a playing card that she had picked from her chocolate frog.

"Regulus Black. Again" she sighed. Emily and Alison exchanged a glance.

"You already got one of him, then?" Emily asked. Spencer grumpily threw it on the floor.

"Yeah I got about 7" she sighed "How many times do I need to read that he was the first ever death eater to stand up to Voldemort, and tried to kill him and died bravely and all that crap"  
" _Good on you, Uncle Regulus_ " Alison thought.

"Soooo, how are you and Sean , Hanna?" Aria suddenly bought up. Hanna blushed and twirled her hair slightly.

"Sean's cute" Hanna told them "Like reeeeally cute" The other girls exchanged glances.

"Have you guys kissed yet?" Emily asked her friend. Hanna shrugged, but the look on her face was unconvincing.

"Oh my god, you have!" Alison squealed. Hanna punched her lightly.

"Shut uupppp, I don't want the whole train to hear!" she told her in a whisper.

"Tongue or no tongue?" Spencer asked eagarly. Hanna shrugged again.

"Ewwwww" Aria squeaked "That's so gross". Hanna flicked her arm.

"Just because your a prude, Aria, doesn't mean the rest of us are" she told her, with a proud look on her face. Aria looked angry.

"Am not a prude!" she insisted, tugging at her pink hair "It's just, the thought of kissing boys is gross"  
"Why, would you rather kiss girls?" Hanna snapped back. Aria shook her head furiously.

"I'm no dyke" she told them, crossing her legs.

"Coulda fooled me with that hair" Alison mumbled. Everyone laughed.

"No one uses that word anymore" Spencer scoffed "It's offensive"  
"Who cares even if she was into girls?" Emily asked awkwardly.

No one said anything.

Almost on cue to break the awkward silence, there was a knock on the compartment door.

"Come in" Spencer said in a muffled tone, halfway through eating a chocolate frog. The door opened to reveal Maya St Germain.

"Hey, can I sit with you guys?" she asked "Everywhere other booth is full"  
"So is this one" Alison muttered. Only Emily heard, and nudged her lightly on the ribs.

"Who are you exactly?" Hanna asked. Maya smiled, her shiny teeth showing.

"Maya St Germain" she introduced "I met Emily last week at the Quidditch World Cup"

"Oh yeah, that short girl that was sat next to Em!" Aria remembered.

"You can talk" Spencer laughed. Aria pulled a cross face, but it was hard to take her seriously.

"I can leave if you guys don't have room-" Maya started saying, slightly shutting the compartment door.

"You can sit with us, Maya" Emily said quickly. Maya smiled. She walked over and much to everyones surprise, wedged herself inbetween Emily and Alison.

"I'm Spencer" Spencer introduced, trying to break the tension and holding out her hand for Maya to shake. She shook it back.

"I'm Hanna" Hanna introduced. And this is Aria, and-"  
"And I'm Alison" Alison interrupted her, giving Maya her biggest smile. No one could tell if it was fake or not.

"Maya St Germain" she held out her hand, and Alison reluctantly shook it.

"You said that already" she pointed out. Maya slowly took her hand away from Alison.

"Suppose I have" she smiled "Your Jason Dilaurentis' sister, aren't you?" Alison nodded.

"What gave it away?" she asked sarcastically. More awkward silence fell over the compartment.

"I don't think your friends like me" Maya told Emily. The two of them were walking towards the carriages.

"Sure they do" Emily assured her "Hanna's just always like that, Aria gets nervous around new people and Spencer's like an overprotective mom" She had purposly missed out Alison.  
"And what about Alison?" Maya asked her. Shit.

"Wellllll" Emily didn't know what to say. It was obvious that Alison had mixed feelings towards Maya, and she didn't wanna tell her that without hurting her feelings.

"Alison's a complicated person" she finally decided to say. Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Mmmhm" she laughed "Remind me again why that girl wasn't put in Slytherin?" Emily punched her on the arm.

"I'm serious!" she told her "Alison seems cold on the outside, but she's really nice once you get to know her" Maya looked unconvinced.

"I'm not sure I wanna get to know her" she admitted "And I'm not sure she wants to get to know me either" Emily shook her head.

"That's not true, she'll probably really like you when she talks to you!" Emily tried to convince her.

"I just don't think she's my type of person" Maya admitted. Emily looked confused.

"And what type of person would that be?" she asked curiously. Maya's eyes wandered.

"You know" she said absently "The Queen B's. Not my cup of tea"

"Alison's no Queen B" Emily laughed, almost in disbelief.

"Sure she is" Maya said "She's got the pretty blonde hair, the huge amounts of money, the hot best friend...all she needs is the jerk boyfriend and she's there" Emily gulped. Had Maya just...?  
"Did you just call me hot?" she asked her. Maya turned to face her and smirked.

"Well, you are her best friend, aren't you?" she said in a hushed tone. Emily nodded, unable to say anything. "Then yeah, I did"

"Hey, where's Em?" Alison asked, looking back. She had realised that Emily was not walking with her and the others.

"I think she's back there with Maya" Hanna shrugged "I don't know"  
"But, she said she would ride the horseless carriages with me" Alison's voice cracked a little in her sadness.

"Guess she changed her mind" Spencer put an arm round her cousin "Come on, we'll just meet her up at the castle. Alison looked over her shoulder, to see if Emily was there, and sure enough she saw her.

She was walking with Maya, and they seemed like they were having fun. Alison couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Emily never laughed that much, unless she was with Alison herself.

"Better hurry, Ali, or this thing's gonna leave without you" Hanna held out a hand and beckoned for Alison to jump up.

"I'm here" Alison said absently, still looking at Emily and Maya. Stupid Emily. Stupid Maya.

"Oh, so you decided to show up I see" was the first thing Alison said when Emily sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"I was just hanging back with Maya" Emily told her. Alison rolled her eyes a little when Emily had said 'Maya'.

"Whatever" she huffed "It's just, we said that we'd sit together the first time we rode the horseless carriages" she picked at a potato that was sitting on her plate.

"Forgot, sorry" Emily said absently. Alison slammed her fork down onto her plate, causing the rest of the Gryffindor table to jump a little.

"You fucking forgot? My ass, you forgot. If you'd rather hang out with Maya than me then that's totally cool, but don't you dare give me this 'forgot' bullshit"

"Maya didn't have anyone to ride up with!" Emily told her, slamming her own fork down "I thought it would be the nice thing to do-no one wants to ride in the dark alone-"  
"Then you should've asked me to come with you two!"  
"You were with Hanna and the others! I thought you'd be okay with-"  
"That's not the point, Emily! The point is we discussed this. We said we'd want to do it together. It's not a case of 'you looked happy with how it was', it's a case of us two talking about something we'd do together, and then you fucking off to do it with some girl you've known for 25 minutes!"  
"Then I'll sit with you next year-"  
"Jesus fucking Christ, you really don't get it, do you? Next year won't be like this year, because we'd have already done it! It was about the sentimentality, which clearly you know nothing about"  
And just like that, Alison got up and walked out. Emily watched her go, feeling a twinge of regret.

"Hey, Ali, come back!" she tried shouting, but shortly after she'd spoken, Alison flipped her the finger.

"Dang, she's hot when she's angry" Caleb Rivers said from across the table. Emily flicked a pea at him.

"What's got her so worked up?" Toby Cavenaugh asked.

"It's my fault" Emily admitted "I broke a promise I made with her"  
"Trouble in paradise, is it?" Caleb asked. Emily flicked another pea at him.

"It's not funny, I've really upset her" Emily insisted.

"She'll get over it" Toby assured "She's just a drama queen"  
"Yeah, a really hot drama queen" Caleb put in.

Toby and Emily both flicked a pea at him.


	25. That's What Best Friends Do

Alison was already out of bed by the time Emily woke up. Her friend was nowhere in sight, and she realised she must have gone down to breakfast. But then she saw the time.

9:00

"Crap!" Emily muttered to herself, throwing her sheets off and getting dressed as quickly as she could. She quickly glanced at her new timetable in the process, and saw that she had Herbology.

Great.

Emily had never gotten dressed so quickly, and by the time 9:03 had rolled around she was out the door and running down to the greenhouses.

"So, as you can see here, the mandrake-"  
"Sorry I'm late, Professor!" Emily made a fuss of hurrying into the greenhouse messily carrying her bags, interrupting whatever Professor Longbottom had been saying.

"That's quite alright, Miss Fields" he told her, a slight frown of embarrassment on his face "Find a space and join in with the work"

Emily looked around the room. She spotted Alison over the far side, but she wasn't looking at her at all. There was an empty space next to her, and Emily was about to take it as she wanted to make right with her. After all, she was her best-

"Emily, over here!"  
It was Maya. She was stood opposite Alison, and sure enough there was a spare spot next to the dark haired girl. Emily tried to make eye contact with Alison, but found once again that she was not looking at her. Reluctantly, she went and stood with Maya.

"Hey" Maya whispered. Emily smiled a little.

"Hey"  
"As I was saying" Professor Longbottom glared at Emily "The mandrake is a small baby-looking plant that grows in gardens across the world"  
"Ugly looking baby" Sean Ackard commented. Emily noticed that he was standing next to Hanna, and the two were holding hands.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Mr Ackard" the teacher shot back at him. Hanna still giggled. "Now can anyone tell me what's so special about the mandrake?"

Both Alison and Maya's hands shot up immediately.

"Miss St Germain" Professor Longbottom called. Alison scrunched up her nose.

"The mandrake, or mandragora" Maya began "Has a cry fatal to anyone that hears it"  
"Everyone knows that" Alison input, unnecessarily might be added.

"Excellent, Maya, 10 points to Slytherin" Longbottom beamed. Emily smiled at her, as Alison continued to scrunch her nose.

"So what are we doing with them?" Chris Bazini asked, slightly backing away from the plant pot.

"We're all going to put our earmuffs on" Professor Longbottom explained "And pull out the mandrakes from the pot ourselves altogether"  
"Won't we die?" Bridget Wu asked.

"Goodness, no" Neville told them "The mandrake's cry is only fatal to those who hear it with the naked ear. No, putting earmuffs over your ears will enable you to hear their scream more than partially, but the effect won't be fatal. However, I must warn you that I did faint the first time I heard it"

"Blimey, Professor, how bad it is?" Sean Ackard asked, still holding on to Hanna's hand.

"It's...shocking" was all the Professor could think to say. His face was turning white at the thought of his first time hearing the mandrake's cry.

"Is everyone ready?"  
The students simultaneously put on their earmuffs, and prepared to yank up the stalks that were holding the mandrakes. Emily was nervous and was almost shaking. She didn't like the thought of anyone fainting over these stupid little plants. Surely they couldn't be that bad, could they?"  
"You'll be okay" Maya told her. She had sensed Emily's fear. Before Emily knew what was happening, Maya's hand was on hers. Emily flinched at her touch, but her hand suddenly melted into Maya's. Her hands were so soft, she thought. Their fingers laced together, and the two girls looked up at each other, and smiled.

"On 3. 1...2...3!"  
The sound was worse than anyone had expected it to be. It was the sound of children being tortured, hard to believe it was coming from a small plant from the ground. It was the worst thing that Emily had ever heard in all her life. She felt as if she herself were being tortured, and the pain was too much for her. In a brief moment, Emily's eyes rolled backwards and she fell to the floor

"Em, Em hey wake up!"

Emily opened her eyes and saw the face of her peers leaning over her. Professor Longbottom and Madame Pomfrey were over the other end of the room, smiling down at her.

"What happened?" Emily asked, rubbing her head and wincing at the feeling of pain.

"You fainted" Spencer explained "About 15 minutes ago, actually. You were out for quite a while"

"Do you need anything?" Maya asked her "Water? A pillow?" Emily shook her head.

"N-no I'm good" she told them. Her eyes scanned the room, but they didn't find what they were looking for.

"Where's Ali?" she asked her friends. Everyone looked at one another.

"Well" Aria started "While you were out, Ali and Maya kinda started bickering and she stormed out"  
Emily sat bolt up right in confusion.

"An argument?" she questioned "What about?"

"Well" Maya was looking almost guilty "When you fell, she came running over to you and asked for someone to grab you some ice for your head. B-but I didn't think that was a good idea, as the coldness against your head could make you stay out for longer, but because you had a bruise she seemed to think it was necessary"  
"How did that lead to her storming out?" Emily asked, instantly regretting it.

"Well, she started bringing things up that were nothing to do with you fainting" Maya told her "She started saying how you were her best friend, and she knew what was best for you"  
"And she called Maya stupid" Hanna input.

"But we all kinda agreed with Maya" Spencer added "So none of us got her any ice"  
"So she stormed out" Aria finished. Emily attempted to stand up.

"And none of you went after her?" she questioned. Everyone glanced at each other, and then at Emily, but no one said anything.

"Fine, I'll go after her" Emily spat. She grabbed her bags and robes and headed towards the door.

"Hang on, Miss Fields, you still need to drink this to ensure a full recovery" Madame Pomfrey was rushing towards her with a glass of something that looked a little like pee.

"If I hadn't had made a full recovery" Emily turned back and glared at her "Would I be able to do this?"

Out of nowhere, Emily did a cartwheel and continued walking. Madame Pomfrey sighed, and went back to talking to Professor Longbottom.

"Ali" Emily called. Alison was now only a little way in front of her in the corridor, and she was walking the quickest she'd ever walked. "Alison, wait!"  
"What do you want?" Alison whipped her head back.

"Why'd you storm off?" Emily asked her, panting from the amount of running she had had to do to catch up with Alison.

"Because it's the end of class" Alison said back. Emily laughed a little.

"No its not, we still got 4 minutes" she told her "Why'd you actually storm off?"

"4 minutes counts for shit" Alison argued "Might as well have left then anyway-"  
"Don't bullshit me, Alison"

Alison winced. Something about Emily calling her Alison did not agree with her. It was then that she knew she had fucked up. It was almost as bad as when her parents used her full name when they were telling her off.  
"Why are you even talking to me, we're not talking, remember?" the blonde hissed at the brunette.

"If this is about Maya..."  
Alison interrupted her with a loud laugh, and the sound of her books hitting the floor.

"No shit, this is about Maya!" she laughed "Jesus Christ Emily, you've known the girl for not even a week and you're already putting her on top of me"

"I didn't do anything!" Emily argued "I was unconscious, remember? Anything that happened between you and Maya isn't my fault-"  
"Well that's just it, isn't it? It is your fault. It's your fault that you didn't sit next to me on the stupid horseless carriage, and it's your fault you didn't stand with me today in class, and-"  
"Are you honestly gonna blame me for that, when you were the one refusing to make eye contact with me?" Emily shouted "I wanted to stand with you in class, but you were making it look like you'd literally rather do anything else in the world. I'm not gonna try with you, Ali, if you given me little to nothing back"

"You didn't want to stand with me, you wanted to stand with Maya!" Alison shouted back "I don't blame you, really. Maya's nice, and she's pretty, and she's-"  
"You're nice!" Emily interrupted "And pretty! I'm not choosing Maya over you, I just thought it'd be nice to make a few new friends this year, and-"  
"Oh so what, your bored of your old friends?"  
"That's not what I said!"  
"Well it sounded awfully like it"  
"Are you seriously that insecure that you can't stand the thought of me talking to someone else?"  
"It's not that!"  
"Then what is it, Ali?!"  
Truth was, Alison didn't know what it was. It wasn't that she didn't like Emily having other friends, because that would be ridiculous. If it had been anyone else that she had been hanging around with, then she probably would have been absolutely fine with it. But it was just something about Maya. Something about the way she saw Emily looking at her, something about the way she had felt when she saw Emily and Maya holding hands. Something else. Something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Fine. Go fuck off with Maya, see if I care"  
"Maybe I will!"  
"Good!"  
"Good!"

Alison stormed off once more, leaving Emily alone in the hall. Emily felt a slight tear trickle down her cheek, which she quickly brushed away. Alison was being completely unreasonable, but something about the things she had said were brewing emotions in her that she didn't even knew existed.

"Everything okay?"

It was Maya. Of course it was Maya, jumping in right when Emily needed her, or at least needed someone. Emily turned around to see the small girl looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she lied "What're you doing out of class?"  
"Bell went" Maya explained. Should've been obvious, Emily thought "Are you sure you're okay? Whatever that was sounded pretty intense"

Emily couldn't hold it in longer. Without waiting a moment longer, she burst into tears. Maya almost instantly ran towards her, and wrapped her arms round her.

"Don't cry" she comforted her "I'm sure you two'll resolve it soon enough" Emily continued sobbing into her shoulder. She had never cried like this in front of anybody before, and it felt comforting knowing Maya didn't think that she was a complete weirdo because of it.

"You really think so?" she said between sobs. Maya propped her chin up to face her, and nodded her head.

"Of course you will" she told her "You two are best friends-that's what best friends do"


	26. Rite Of Passage

It had been a few weeks since Emily and Alison had fallen out, and they had not spoken a word to each other ever since. This did mean awkwardness, as they did hang around with the same people during the times that they weren't in class. The two girls were becoming almost strangers to each other- it was crazy how quickly that could happen. Things were not all bad, however. Emily had found herself hanging around a lot with Maya, who was becoming to grow on her a little too more than she should. She loved the moments she spent with Maya. Not a single second passed where the two weren't laughing and joking, and every time Maya's hand brushed her own she felt a slight tingle in her stomach. There were times that Maya made her feel like she didn't need Alison, but it would only take a few seconds for her to snap out of it. She still missed Alison, but she refused to even look at her now.

Gryffindor Quidditch trials had come and gone, and Emily had obviously aced the seeker position, and was going to continue being a member of the team for at least another year. It was now the middle of November, and Emily's birthday was coming up soon. Her friends wanted her to have a party, but Emily tried to avoid that topic whenever she could. Having a party would mean inviting Alison, and that's the last thing she wanted to do. She didn't want to have to spend her birthday with her ex best friend that currently hated her guts. She was hoping that everyone would just forget about Emily's birthday in the first place.

"I still think you should have a party" Hanna told her, throwing a peanut into the air and catching it in her mouth. Emily shook her head furiously.

"I can't" she insisted.

"Why not?" Hanna asked "You're turning 13. Everyone has a party for their 13th, it's a rite of passage"

"It is so not a rite of passage" Spencer laughed "People typically have parties for their 16th, 18th or 21st" Hanna threw a peanut at her.

"Shut up Spence, you're supposed to be on my side" she huffed "Besides, my social life is seriously lacking at the moment. Sean is always at Quidditch practice and its not like you lot are party goers"  
"Hey!" Aria piped up for the first time in a while "You don't know what I get up to"  
No one questioned this.

"How much partying can a 12 year old do anyway?" Spencer asked, opening the page of a large book.

"That's not the point!" Hanna argued "Anyway, why can't you have a party? I don't get it" Emily pursed her lips.

"Because if I have a party, Alison will have to come" she whispered. Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Oh for fucks sake, can't you two just kiss and make up?" Hanna snapped.

Emily blushed slightly at this comment, and everyone looked at Hanna with a strange look on their faces.

"Come again?" Spencer looked up from her book.

"I didn't mean literally!" Hanna defended "I just meant, this whole Emily-Alison thing is stupid. Do you know how hard it is to be friends with two people that aren't talking? It's like I'm living a double life" Emily awkwardly shifted her eyes.

"Han, it's Em's business, don't get involved" Spencer told her. Hanna dramatically threw her arms up in the air.

"Alison would party with me!" she shouted "Where the hell is she anyway?"  
"She stayed behind to talk to Flitwick about some charm we learnt in class today" Emily remembered. Hanna chuckled.

"My ass she did. She probably just doesn't wanna sit with us because she knows how awkward it is and doesn't wanna put herself through that trauma"

Emily realised she was probably right.

"So what if Alison comes to your party?" Aria asked "I'm sure a lot of people would come, doesn't mean you have to talk to her"

"She does have a point" Spencer agreed, not looking up from her book.

"I'm not having a party!" Emily insisted.

"Like hell you're not" Hanna said. Suddenly, the blonde girl jumped up on the table that the girls were sitting at and stamped her feet.

"LISTEN UP EVERYBODY" she started shouting "EMILY FIELDS IS HAVING A BIRTHDAY PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT IN THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM. TELL YOUR FRIENDS"  
Everyone in the courtyard cheered, as Emily grabbed Hanna's robes and yanked her off the table.

"What was that for?" she asked "Now everyone thinks I'm having a party!" Hanna smirked.

"That's because you are having a party" she told her friend "Come on, I'm sure you'll need something to take your mind off of Alison"

Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine" she mumbled "But I'll get you back for this"

Alison was walking down the corridors of Hogwarts castle, alone. She hadn't spoken to Emily in weeks, and it was now starting to affect other people. She noticed that her friends felt uncomfortable when they were around Emily and Alison at the same time, so Alison had today decided to 'hang back' in class so they wouldn't have to suffer that awkwardness.

Truth was, she missed Emily, but she was still so angry at her. More importantly, she was angry at Maya. She didn't like the way that this girl had swooped in out of nowhere and managed to win over her best friend. Emily hadn't been the same ever since she started talking to that girl, and Alison didn't like it.

She had never heard her shout the way she shouted at her before, other than when she was defending Alison herself. She didn't like that. It was almost as if fiery Emily was hers and no one else's. And suddenly, here's Maya St Germain with her perfect hair and her perfect words. Stupid Maya. Stupid Emily.

The corridors seemed to be particularly haunting today, and not just because of the various ghosts flying in and out of walls engaged in different conversations. There was an eerie sort of feeling going around-eerier than usual.

And that was when the eeriest thing happened-all the ghosts disappeared at once. They didn't float away at the same time, they just disappeared. As if they had suddenly poofed out of existence. Alison stopped dead in her tracks and looked around, to see if something had maybe scared them off.

"Hello?" she called "Is anyone there?"

Stupid thing to say, she thought. Obviously if there was some creepy stalker there then they wouldn't just suddenly announce themselves. Surely enough, no one answered and Alison kept walking.

Suddenly, she felt a shiver running down her spine. She realised that the temperature had dropped a significant amount, and she stopped walking.

It was then that she saw it.

It was over the end of the hall, so far away that Alison could only make out its dark silhouette. But there was no mistaking what she was seeing.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

Just the thought of the name gave Alison the shivers.

"Alisoooooon" Bellatrix whispered. Her dark figure seemed to be getting more and more daunting every second. Alison squeezed her eyes shut in pure fear, and to amazement, when she opened them again the figure was gone. The temperature had gone back up to normal, and the ghosts had returned to the halls as if they had never left

"Maybe I was imagining things" she told herself. Obviously. There was no possible way that Bellatrix Lestrange had temporarily gotten rid of all the Hogwarts ghosts and decreased the room temperature. It was just some twisted hallucination.

But some part of her felt like she had to tell Emily anyway. After all, there was a very very slight possibility that what she had seen hadn't been her imagination, and Emily had the right to know.

But Emily didn't wanna talk to her. Alison had hurt her, she knew that. There was no way that Emily would even place herself in the same room as Alison voluntarily.

"LISTEN UP EVERYBODY. EMILY FIELDS IS HAVING A BIRTHDAY PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT IN THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM. TELL YOUR FRIENDS"

Hanna's voice echoed around the courtyard.

Shit. Alison had forgotten, it was Emily's birthday soon. She hadn't gotten her anything. She didn't need to get her anything, surely. But that wasn't what stuck to her in what Hanna had just said. Emily was having a birthday party, and everyone was invited. Everyone including Alison. This party would be the perfect opportunity for her to tell Emily what she had seen in the corridors.

You know, the hallucination.

Because it had just been a hallucination.

Surely.

Right?


	27. Lying To The Dalai Lama

The party had started. The Gryffindor common room was full of people from various houses and various year groups. Emily realised that she didn't even recognise half of them. A large banner reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY was hung between the two ends of the rooms, decorated with the Gryffindor colours and pictures of broomsticks and golden snitches. Hanna was stood by the fireplace giggling helplessly at everything Sean Ackard was saying, and the two were holding hands. Spencer was in the corner practising charms with party balloons and Gryffindor banners with some of her friends from Ravenclaw, and Aria was dancing like a wild one in the middle of the room.

Emily was stood alone near the door with a bottle of butterbeer in her hand. She didn't really know where to place herself. She wasn't interested in anything that any of her friends were doing, and there wasn't really anyone else she felt like talking to.

"What's wrong, birthday girl?" Toby Cavenaugh came up behind her, also holding a bottle of butterbeer. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Nothing's wrong" she lied "I'm having fun" Toby raised an eyebrow.

"Nobody has fun on their own" he told her in that 'Toby knows all' tone. Emily realised he had grown quite a bit since last year. And he had had a haircut. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, I guess I didn't really want a birthday party" she admitted. Toby frowned and put an arm round her.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it!" he insisted "Come on, there are lots of cool people to talk to round here, you don't have to stand here alone" Emily brushed him off. She didn't want to talk to any of these random people that didn't know her. She stared at the door, part of her hoping that Alison would turn up. She still hadn't spoken to her at all since the first day of school, and was partially hoping that she could resolve things. Toby noticed her looking at the door, and went and stood in front of it.  
"Looking for someone?" he asked her, snapping her out of the slight trance she had put herself in

"No" Emily lied. Toby knew she was lying. Lying to Toby was like lying to the Dalai Lama.

"Whatever you say" he shrugged "Hey, I'm gonna go...talk to someone. You can join me if you like"

Emily instantly shook her head, but then suddenly realised what he'd said and how he'd said it. Was it possible that Toby Cavenaugh, model student, was into a girl?

"That haircut" she smirked "Who's it for?" Toby immediately blushed and fiddled with his hands.

"No one" he murmured "It's for no one. I'm gonna just...yeah..." Toby hurried off and much to Emily's surprise, headed over to the corner that Spencer was practising magic.

She stood at the door still, hoping that Alison would walk in. She didn't know what would happen after she did, but she felt as though it would make this whole ordeal slightly more bearable. She was still angry at her, of course. How dare she talk about Maya like that? And what for, anyway? Was she jealous?  
"Hey girl"

It was Maya, coming up from behind her. Emily turned around and greeted her friend with a beaming smile. Suddenly, this day had gotten slightly better.

"Hey" she greeted back, flicking her hair behind her shoulders and fiddling with her hands.

"Who you waiting for?" Maya asked. Crap, she'd noticed.

"No one" Emily lied, again. "Just a bit bored is all" Maya could tell she was lying. Obviously.

"A birthday party isn't a birthday party without the birthday girl" she told her "Why aren't you talking to anyone?" Emily finished the last sip of her butterbeer. She noticed the song that had just come on. _The Last of the Real Ones_ by Fallout boy. She thought it reminded her of Maya, or of Alison, or maybe of both.

"Not feeling it" Emily told her. This part wasn't a complete lie. This was the last place on earth she wanted to be right now, and Maya knew that.

"Come on, I wanna show you something" Maya held out her hand for her to hold, and Emily took it.

 _Coz you're the last of a dying breed_

Maya led her through the crowds of people, stopping to say hi to anyone that would. Emily liked the feel of her hand against Maya's. It was soft, just as she remembered. Maya reached a bag on a chair and swung it over her shoulder.

"Come on" she said. She grabbed Emily's hand again and led her back through the crowd of people towards the door.

 _Write our names in the wet concrete_

"Where are you taking me?" Emily asked her with a slight giggle in her voice. Maya said nothing. She was being mysterious, as usual. Emily liked that about her. She felt like she found out something different about her friend every moment that she was with her.

"Just shut up" Maya shouted over the music. They reached the door, or portrait hole rather, and both climbed out.

 _I wonder if your therapist knows, everything about me_

"We're missing the party!" Emily insisted. Maya rolled her eyes.

"Like you wanted to be there anyway" she pointed out. Emily couldn't argue. The two girls reached an old looking statue, and Maya sat them both down just in front of it.

"You gonna pull out a joint, wild one?" Emily joked. Maya shook her head.

"No, but would you like me to?" she replied. Both of them laughed. Maya reached for the bag she had collected from the Gryffindor common room, and started digging inside of it.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked her.

"Giving you your birthday present, silly" Maya explained. Emily blushed. She had told everyone not to get her anything for her birthday, and everyone had obeyed that order. Everyone other than Maya. Eventually, she pulled out what looked like a small box from the side compartment of her bag.

"Here" Maya handed it to her "Open it"

Emily took the box, and carefully lifted the lid. Sitting in it on a layer of protective foam was a bracelet. The bracelet was silver, and had a heart charm attached to it. There was another charm on the other side, which looked to be a golden snitch. Engraved in the middle of the golden snitch was the word _Emily_.

"Maya" Emily whispered, almost choking on her words "Maya I..I love it" Maya beamed.

"I knew you would" she told her "Here, give it to me. I'll put it on for you"

Emily handed Maya back the bracelet, as the smaller girl unclipped it and grabbed onto Emily's hand.

"Never take it off" she told her. Emily nodded. She didn't think she ever would take it off. Maya was gentle with her wrist, and carefully slipped the bracelet on Emily's tanned wrist.

"I don't know what to say" Emily breathed "Thank you"

Maya smiled. She took Emily's hand in her own and circled her thumb on her skin. She brought her other hand up to Emily's face, and tucked a strand of her behind her ear. Emily gazed into her eyes, Maya doing the same. They both seemed to be locked in that moment, and didn't want to get out of it anytime soon.

"Uhm, hi?"

The two girls turned their heads, and found Alison standing in front of them giving them a strange look.

"A-Alison" Emily stammered, moving slightly away from Maya "What are you d-doing here?"

Alison suddenly felt awkward, and looked extremely out of place.

"I was going to the Gryffindor common room" she explained, staring at Maya "What are you doing here?"  
"Uhm, we were just-"  
"I was giving Emily her birthday present" Maya interrupted. It was probably best that she had, else Emily would have melted on the spot. Alison folded her arms.

"Cute" she muttered "Em, I need to talk to you. Alone"  
Emily glanced protectively at Maya.

"Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of Maya" she told her. Alison rolled her eyes.

"Don't give me that shit" she snapped "I only need to talk to you for a minute, you can get back to...whatever that was...once I'm done"  
"I'm not going anywhere with-" but Maya stopped her.

"It's alright Em, I'll leave" she told her, grabbing her bag and standing up "I can see I'm not welcome here"  
"How observant of you" Alison hissed. Maya gave her a death glare, which Alison returned, before heading off back to the Gryffindor common room.

"What the hell was that?" Emily demanded, standing up to facer her friend. Or rather, ex friend.

"I couldn't say what I'm about to say in front of her" Alison said, putting emphasis on the word 'her'.

"But you could've said it nicely!" Emily pointed out "You didn't have to go all mean-teen-homecoming queen on her!" Alison pursed her lips.

"Well whatever, she's gone now" she sighed "Are you gonna let me say what I need to say now? I'm sure you want to be getting back to your little girlfriend right about now"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emily snapped. Here we go, she thought. Another argument.

"I mean exactly what I say" Alison told her "Oh come on, I saw you two. Don't tell me that the way she looks at you is her just being 'extremely friendly'"

"It's not like that!" Emily argued "S-she was just giving me my bracelet. She was just being nice, something you'd know nothing about" Alison angrily edged closer towards her.

"Oh she was being suuuper nice!" she hissed "Jesus Christ, Emily, I've seen how you two behave around each other. There's nothing wrong with being gay, or anything, I'm just-"  
"I'm not gay!" Emily interrupted "Me and Maya are just friends! You're just so jealous of her that you're trying to justify it" Alison bit her lip a little too hard. She was becoming angrier by the second, so better to just say what she needed to say rather than getting so angry that she physically hurt someone.

"There's no time for this" she said calmly "I-I just came here to tell you, that I saw something yesterday" Emily folded her arms.

"Saw what?" she asked, partially angry yet partially intrigued.

"I saw-" Alison gulped "I saw _her_ " Emily looked confused.

"Maya?" she asked. Alison rolled her eyes.

"No not Maya, not everything is about fucking Maya" she spat, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"Then who?" Emily questioned. She knew deep down who Alison meant, she just didn't want to believe that it was her that she was talking about.

"Bellatrix" Alison whispered "Bellatrix Lestrange. She-she's back. I saw her yesterday" Emily stepped back a little, shaking her head.

"No" she muttered "N-no. That can't be true. She can't be back" Alison followed her.

"Yesterday, when I was walking back from Flitwick's classroom, I was walking down the main corridor and there was no one around. Then all the ghosts disappeared, and I saw her. At the end of the hall"  
"You saw her face?" Emily asked. Alison shook her head.

"No" she admitted "But I saw her silhouette. I've seen that silhouette a thousand times in my dreams, Emily, and it was her" Emily gulped.

"Did she say anything?" she asked.

"She did" Alison said "She said my name"  
"And that's all?"  
Alison nodded. Emily held her head in her hands, a sheer look of panic in her face.

"Is that all?" she asked. Alison nodded her head once again. Emily's face suddenly fell, as if she had realised something.

"You're lying" she said. Alison scrunched her eyebrows, and unfolded her arms.

"What do you mean, I'm lying?" she question. Emily's face turned from a look of panic, to a look of crazy anger.

"You're lying!" she repeated, but this time in a shout "You never saw her, you're just trying to scare me!" Alison shook her head, wondering if this girl was honestly being serious.

"What, of course I'm not!" she shouted "Why the fuck would I-"  
"Because you're jealous!" Emily interrupted "You're jealous of me and Maya and you just wanted to scare me into talking to you again. You're bullshitting me"  
"Are you for real?" Alison asked "Are you honestly that self absorbed that you think I would lie about seeing the person that tried to kill you last year?"

"I'm not self absorbed, you're just insane!" Emily shouted "Don't you dare come here and insult Maya, and insult me-" Alison turned from being angry, to feeling sad and just wanting to disappear on the spot.

"Em, I would never-"  
"Don't call me Em! You have no right to call me Em. You're the one that caused all this drama in the first place, not me! So don't come crying back to me when you're the one in the wrong"

A tear rolled gently down Alison's face, but she quickly wiped it with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Save it Alison" Emily headed back towards the portrait hole "Save your lies for someone who has time to hear them"

And just like that, she walked away. Emily had walked away from her. _Her_ Emily. Alison suddenly regretted everything. She admitted, she was jealous of Emily's friendship with Maya, but she regretted ever acting on that jealousy. She wished she and Emily were friends still. She wished she had never walked away from her that day after herbology. Slowly and painfully, Alison sunk to the ground, leant her back against the wall, and burst into tears.


	28. The Snitch

It was the first Quidditch game of the season, and it would be an understatement to say that Emily was nervous. Ian Thomas, last years Gryffindor keeper, had left school this year, and his role had been filled in by 2nd year Holden Strauss. Holden Strauss wasn't exactly the most muscular of people, but he was agile and that's one of the main skills that were required for a keeper.

That's not why she was nervous though. She knew that Alison would be in the stands, and she knew that giving her even one look would completely throw her focus and jeopardise the game.

"You'll be fine" Maya assured her, as the two were walking to the Quidditch tent.

"How do you know?" Emily asked her. Maya smirked.

"Because you're Emily" she said simply "And Emily's amazing" Emily smiled. But her smile soon faded when she realized that this time last year, she had been having this talk with Alison. It was Alison getting her ready for her first game of the year, and now it was Maya. It felt different. Almost as if it wasn't real. She could hear the words coming out of Maya's mouth, but she wasn't really believing them. Last year, when it had been Alison, she hung on to every word she said and she believed them like she had never believed anything else. But this...this felt false.

"Are you worried about Alison?" Maya asked her. Emily brought her focus back to Maya. It was almost as though she could read her thoughts.

"Yeah" Emily admitted "She'll be in the stands. What if I see her?" Maya gentle grabbed her forearm.

"Alison's a toxic person" she assured her. Emily gulped. The same thought seemed to be flying around her head.

 _This is wrong, this is wrong_

"She's not toxic" Emily found herself defending Alison. Again. Like she always did. And when would she get any of it back? "She's just being angsty right now" Maya nodded unconvincingly.

"And I'm sure she'll get over it soon enough and you two will become best friends again" she told her "But you can't get yourself worried about what might happen, when one thing you know for sure is that you have a game today and you need to be ready for it"

Emily realised that she was right. Alison or no Alison, she can to avert her focus to the game. It was no good thinking about Alison when she was almost sure that Alison was not thinking about her.

"Here we are" Emily stated, as the two reached the tent. Maya let go of her arm, and did something that Emily enjoyed much more. She stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Emily lightly on the cheek. Emily blushed slightly.

"Good luck, soldier" she said as she headed off to the stands. Emily brought her hand up to the place where Maya had kissed her, and suddenly felt a wave of butterflies.

Ezra Fitz, the teams 7th year captain, was stood in the middle of the tent with a look of excitement on his face. Over the holidays, he had grown somewhat of a beard, and had gotten even more noticeably taller than he was before.

"Hey, Fields" he called over to her. Emily smiled in return.

"Fitz" she answered, shaking is hand in a very team-like manor. His grip had gotten firmer, too.

"You ready for today?" he asked her, knowing exactly what the answer would be anyway. Emily gulped. She didn't want to tell him how she was feeling feeling, and what was going on with Alison. But she had to say something.

"Ready as I'll ever be" she answered. Ezra grinned, as though this had been the exact answer he was looking for.

"I can always count on you, Fields" he told her "You're the reason we won the cup last year, and you'll be the reason we win it again this year" Emily nodded her head, but was unconvinced at his words. True, she had won the cup for them last year, but she had had Alison last year. Something about Alison always motivated her to be the best version of herself. Maybe that's what she liked about her, she thought.

Soon after Emily had arrived, the rest of the Gryffindor team came pouring into the tent with hopeful looks on her faces. Emily was pleased to see that the team was the same as last years, with the exception of Holden Strauss. Ezra rubbed his hands today like he was plotting something. He had gathered them all together pre-game for one of his token team talks.

"Now remember, don't be nervous. It doesn't matter if we don't win"  
"Uh, yeah it does" Lyndon James, the 4th year chaser interrupted. Ezra gave a slight chuckle.

"Well, obviously it does" he admitted "But what matters the most is that we try our best. Then even if we do lose, we know that we couldn't have played any better. This is my last year at Hogwarts, and I'll be damned if I don't try my best to make it the best I've ever had" The team agreed and loud cheers could be heard.

"I heard they got a new seeker" Toby Cavenaugh told them. Emily couldn't help but be worried.

"That they have" Ezra confirmed "6th year, Garrett Reynolds. I hear he's pretty quick, and good at finding things"  
"Soooo like all Hufflepuffs" 5th year Chaser Jasmine Saunders said. Everyone laughed.

"Yes, much like all Hufflepuffs" Ezra chuckled "Just be careful, Em. This guy plays rough" Emily gulped. Was it not bad enough that there would be enough distractions in the crowd, now there was a super quick super rough guy coming for her on the pitch?

"Fitzgerald, if I could please ask you to escort your team to the Quidditch pitch. The game begins in 7 minutes precisely" Professor McGonagall told him, swiftly walking into the tent.

"It's Fitz" Ezra insisted "And we were just having a team talk, Professor" McGonagall smiled.

"Excellent" she beamed "Just between us, you guys have got this in the bag, right?" Everyone nodded, nobody knowing whether they were telling the truth or not.

"I want a nice clean game!" Madame Hooch told the team players "No bumps, bruises, kicks, nick nack paddywacks give-a-dog-a-bone" Some of the older teachers laughed.

"On 3. 1...2...3!"  
The game had officially started. Libby Jordan was in her usual spot in the teachers stand, with an eager look on her face.

"Gryffindor Chaser, Lyndon James possesses the ball, he's got it wrapped tightly under his huge muscles, HE THROWS IT THROUGH THE HOOP AND-aaaaah shit, saved"  
"Language, Jordan!" McGonagall gave her a slight nudge on the shoulder. Emily smirked.

She was hovering 20 feet above the ground, just as she usually was at this point during the game, scanning the crowd. She noticed Hanna in the Hufflepuff stand holding a large banner that read KILL IT, SEAN. Emily rolled her eyes, remembering earlier when Hanna had promised that she wouldn't make such a big deal out of her house playing Emily's own.

She saw Spencer and Aria in the Ravenclaw stand, pointing and giggling at someone on the pitch. Different people, however. Presumably.

And then she saw Maya in the Gryffindor stand. She was wearing a Gryffindor scarf and was waving Gryffindor coloured flags. Emily noticed how pretty she looked with her hair cascading in front of her shoulders, and soon caught herself staring. Maya clearly caught her too, as she gave Emily a wink that sent butterflies flying around her stomach similar to the ones earlier.

But her gaze was soon diverted when she noticed Alison, two rows behind Maya herself. Her hair was tied tightly in a high ponytail, with some of her hair falling in front of her face. She was giving Maya a look, but not of hatred. More of pure jealousy. She then turned her head to face Emily, but quickly looked away when she saw that Emily was looking at her too.

Emily considered smiling, but immediately snapped herself out of it. Alison had lied to her, and insulted her friend, and she could not be easily forgiven for that.

But then Alison looked back at her, and Emily was confused. Because then she looked away again, and then back at Emily, and then away again. It took Emily a moment to realise that she was glancing in the exact same place every time she looked away.

And them, she understood. She looked to where Alison had been diverting her eyes and sure enough, there it was.

The Golden Snitch.

Without thinking for a moment longer, she picked up her pace and raced towards the tiny golden ball hovering in the air.

"It looks as though Fields has spotted the snitch, only 45 seconds into the game! If I'm not wrong, that's a new record!"  
"Indeed it is, Jordan!" McGonagall beamed.

Emily wished she hadn't have made it so obvious, as now Garrett Reynolds was on her tail. Ezra was right, he really was quick. And rough too.

But Emily was quicker. The snitch was at arms reach now. They were under the stands now, and it looked like some sort of cave. Both the seekers arms reached out, Emily could feel the very tip of her fingers grazing against the snitches golden surface...and that's the last thing she remembered.


	29. A Good Friend

**In the last chapter, I meant to say Maya was in the Slytherin stand, not Gryffindor. Brainfuck smh.**

When Emily woke up, there were around a dozen faces peering over her. She could make out the entirety of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, plus Spencer, Aria, Hanna, Sean Ackard, Caleb Rivers, Madame Pomfrey, and Maya. She was in the hospital wing.

"What happened?" she asked, rubbing her forehead and realizing she had been in a position similar to this just over two months ago.

"You're in the hospital wing" Hanna explained. Emily rolled her eyes.

"I figured that much, Han" she snapped, but immediately regretted it.

"We won the game!" Ezra Fitz told her proudly. Emily sat up excitedly, but was immediately urged to lay back down again by Madame Pomfrey.

"I caught the snitch?" she asked eagerly. Ezra pulled something out of his pocket that looked like the golden snitch. Emily beamed excitely.

"You hit your head on one of the beams" Spencer explained. Ah, that explained the throbbing that she could feel on her forehead.

"But you caught the snitch just as you were falling!" Aria told her.

"You had a pretty bad fall" Jasmine Saunders said "Around 9 feet drop. Not the worst thing that could've happened, but pretty bad nonetheless"  
"And we got a new Hogwarts record!" Lyndon James added "Match was over in a minute flat.

"Honestly Fields, I barely moved from my position" Ezra laughed, patting Emily lightly on the head.

"It was a pretty amazing win" Sean added, holding out his hand for Emily to shake "Even if it was against us, there's no denying that you deserved that more than we did" Emily shook his hand.

"Here, drink this" Madame Pomfrey handed her a glass of a milky looking substance. Emily took it reluctantly and took a large gulp. She instantly regretted this, and dribbled it back into the cup.

"It's medicine, for goodness sake, not hot chocolate" she scoffed, encouraging Emily to drink more of the disgusting drink.

"It's grim" Emily told her.

"Emily, Emily!"  
A voice came hurrying into the hospital wing, and Emily could just about make it out to that of Holden Strauss.

"Hey Hol-"  
"Emily-"  
But he didn't need to say anymore. Emily saw why he had came rushing in here looking so upset. In Holden's hands were the remains of what looked to be a broom. And there was only one broom that could be- hers.

"What happened?" Hanna asked, gently taking the remains of the broom in her own hands.

"McGonagall asked me to stay behind and clean up" Holden was panting "A-and I found this by the beam that Emily hit her head a-and-"

Emily could barely say anything. That broom had been the most important thing to her. She had only had it for a couple of months, but it held a special place in her heart. Her dad had given it to her at Easter when he found out that she was part of the team. It was Firebolt 2.0, a broom that hadn't yet been released in stores. Her dad had connections to the company manager, and Emily felt as though it was the most special gift anyone could ever give her.

"Em, I'm so sorry-"  
"It's alright" she interrupted, not even knowing who had said it "It's no ones fault". She could feel herself becoming a little choked up, but was determined not to let it show. No one likes an emotional wreck.

"What are you gonna do, you don't have a broom!" Hanna shouted. Emily laughed a little, but you could here the pain coming through her chuckles.

"Nice one, Han. Don't try making it worse or anything" Spencer rolled her eyes.

"It's fine" Emily repeated "It is what it is. I guess I can manage with the school's Comets, although they won't be the same"

No one knew what to say, so everyone awkwardly bowed their heads a little.

"You were brilliant out there, Em" Maya said, smiling.

Yeah, she thought. She had been brilliant. But she wasn't even the one who had spotted the snitch- Alison had. If it weren't for Alison, she probably wouldn't have won that game. She probably wouldn't have caught the snitch, and she definitely wouldn't have caught it that quickly. But she also would still have a broom. A Firebolt 2.0.

"Thanks" Emily replied with a gentle smile. The kind of smile she always did when she was around Maya.

"The Hufflepuffs were practically sobbing!" Toby Cavanaugh told her excitedly.

"Yeah" Ezra agreed "You should've seen Reynolds. Threw a hissy fit right in the middle of the pitch. Hooch had to escort him off!" Emily laughed at this.

"Yeah, whatever" Hanna rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

Emily looked around, and suddenly realised who was missing. Alison wasn't there. Not that she expected her to be there, apart from she kinda did. Part of her hoped that Alison still gave a shit about her and wanted to be friends, but looking around and not seeing her face confirmed that she was wrong.

"Did any of you guys see Ali?" she bravely decided to ask. No one said anything for a while, as if there was some sort of elephant in the room that Emily knew nothing of.

"She tried to come in and see you" Aria said eventually. Everyone glared at her and gave her a look of ' _You weren't supposed to say that_ '

"Then where is she now?" Emily asked, slightly confused.

"We told her that you wouldn't want to see her" Hanna explained. Emily bit her lip, slightly frustrated. But she couldn't say anything, however. Her and Alison weren't even talking.

"Oh" she managed to say.

"Visiting hours are over" Madame Pomfrey suddenly said, almost as if she was trying to break the awkward silence. Emily felt slightly relieved. She loved her friends, but couldn't help but feel a little intimidated when they were all peering down at her at once like some undiscovered species.

"Do we have to leave?" Hanna wined. Pomfrey threw her hands on her hips.

"Is my name Poppy Pomfrey? Yes, you have to leave!" she shouted. Once she'd turned away, Hanna flipped her the finger.

"We'll we back tomorrow Em, promise" she called, angrily glaring at Madame Pomfrey.

"I'll be there too!" Aria added. Hanna nudged her in the ribs slightly, followed by Aria nudging Hanna back, and by the time they had left the hospital they were bickering.

"Try not to die in here" Spencer said darkly. Emily looked baffled, but knew Spencer wasn't being serious.

"See ya later, little sis" Ezra flashed a smile at her, and gave her a slight wave. He was getting more and more handsome every time he entered a room.

"Heal up, Fields" Caleb winked at her, as the last of the crowd had left the hospital wing.

"Come on now, there we go" Madame Pomfrey started laying Emily's head back onto the pillow, and almost the second she had hit it, she was asleep.

"Pssssssst"

Emily's eyes fluttered open. She was sure that she had just heard some sort of hissing noise, but surely not.

"Pssssssssst, Emillllyyyy"

There it was again. Emily slowly decided to sit up, and tried to focus her eyes to the darkness. There was nothing there-maybe she had just been imagining things. After a brief second, she was just about to lay down again and rest her head on the pillow when-

"BOO!"  
Emily sat bolt upright, and could now hear the sound of uncontrollable laughter coming from the side of her bed. She diverted her eyes to the left, and found Maya standing there giggling like an idiot.

"What the hell, Maya?" Emily couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"I almost didn't wake you" Maya told her "You look so cute when you're sleeping" Emily blushed, although it was not noticeable in this darkness.

"No I mean, why are you even here in the first place?" Emily whispered. She didn't want to wake any of the other patients up.

"I came to see you silly" she gently nudged her in the shoulder. Emily winced slightly, as this part of her body was still hurting from the fall.

"Oh sorry did I-"  
"Nope, it's fine" Emily cut her off "Just a little bruised from the fall is all" Maya breathed a sigh of relief.

"If anyone catches you here-"  
"Then I'll just run" Maya interrupted "What are they gonna do, run after me? I'd like to see Pomfrey do a hundred meter dash out this hospital wing" This made Emily laugh. Then again, most things Maya said made Emily laugh.

"What time is it anyway?" she asked. Maya sat herself down on the edge of the bed.

"Hang on, let me just whip out my clock from my back pocket" she joked. Emily laughed again.

"I'm sorry I asked" she rolled her eyes. Maya's face suddenly fell into a frown that Emily was not used to seeing on her face.

"I'm sorry about your broom" she whispered. Emily's sighed and diverted her eyes.

"It's okay, no ones fault" she repeated for the second time today.

"It was a pretty awesome broom" Maya told her. Emily scoffed. Yeah, like she didn't know that already.

"My dad got it for me" she explained. Maya shuffled up towards the middle of the bed and was now crossing her legs. She was fiddling with her hands in her lap, and looked almost as though she was about to cry.

"Everything okay?" Emily asked, leaning over to touch Maya's hand gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Maya smiled. But it wasn't a genuine smile, Emily could tell. "That broom was pretty special to you, huh?" Emily nodded.

"My dad's always away" she started explaining "He works for the ministry, and he's always away doing important missions and going to important meetings"

"Sounds cool" Maya murmured. Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"For him, yeah" she said "But not for me and my mum. We hardly ever get to see him, and it sucks"

Maya held tightly onto Emily's hand, and circled her thumb with her own.

"You're brave, Em" she told her "Like, really brave"

Emily couldn't help but blush again, although it wasn't visible in this darkness.

"I'm not" she argued. Maya threw her arms up dramatically.

"Are you shitting me, Emily Fields?" she laughed "You're the bravest person I know!"  
"Then you clearly don't know enough people" Emily fired back. Maya rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You're too modest for your own good, that's your problem"

Both girls smiled at each other, and found themselves looking deeply into one another's eyes. Neither of them said anything, but neither of them needed to say anything. Maya knew that Emily's thoughts were genuine, and Emily could tell that she knew this.

"You're a good friend, Maya" Emily eventually broke the silence. Maya smirked back, a smirk that was almost as if she was trying to hide the fact that she was blushing.

"You're a good friend too, Emily" she replied. Emily smiled. Again.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to the dungeons?" Emily asked. Maya rolled her eyes.

"I hate those dungeons!" she admitted "They're dark and cold and smelly, but then again so are most the Slytherins" This made them both laugh.

"You can't just not go to sleep because you don't like your common room" Emily told her.

"Who said I wasn't going to sleep?"

Maya scooched up closer towards the pillow Emily was laying on, and laid down next to Emily.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked her. She wasn't protesting or anything. Having Maya pressed up against her like this was one of the best feelings she had felt in a long time.

"You didn't think I was gonna leave you all alone tonight, did you?" she simply responded. Emily smiled lightly.

"You can't sleep here" she insisted "Madame Pomfrey will catch you in the morning, then the teachers were know you were out after hours and-"  
"Then let them" Maya interrupted. She buried her head into Emily's chest, and limply swung her arm around Emily's torso. Emily gulped, not quite sure what to do with herself.

"Goodnight, hot stuff" Maya yawned. Emily fiddled with her hands a little, before bravely resting one of them on Maya's hand.

"Goodnight, Maya"


	30. Do You Miss Her?

**P.S- This is not turning into an Emaya story, I promise.**

Emily was released from the hospital wing a day later, and it had been a few days since her accident on the Quidditch pitch. November turned December, and most people were getting ready to go home for Christmas. Emily knew she couldn't go home this Christmas, as her mom was visiting her sick Grandma in the Philippines. It wasn't so bad this time, as the rest of her friends were staying too. Well, apart from Maya.

"I wish you were staying for Christmas" Emily frowned. Maya did too.

"Me too" she agreed. But hey, I'll be back right after and there's still a couple days before the train leaves.

"I know, I know" Emily said "It's just..." She stopped mid sentence and bowed her head.

"Just what?" Maya asked. But Emily didn't need to say anything for Maya to know what she was thinking "Alison's staying too, isn't she"

Emily gave a small nod.

"You don't have to talk to her" Maya told her "Or maybe you should, and you two will finally make up and you'll stop being mopey about the whole thing" Emily punched her arm.

"Hey, I am not being mopey!" She argued. Maya raised her eyes.

"Come on, I wanna show you something" without warning, Maya grabbed on to Emily's wrist and started running to the courtyard.

"Where are you taking me?" Emily questioned, slightly worried.

"Oh just trust me, would you?" Maya answered. Emily rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered if that girl ever took a day off from being a wild maniac.

"Why are we at the bridge?" Emily asked, realising where they had stopped.

"Will you stop asking questions?" Maya let go of Emily's wrist, much to Emily's despair. Suddenly, she climbed a large rock that was sitting next to the bridge, and climbed onto its roof.

"What the hell, Maya, get down from there!" Emily shouted. The drop underneath the bridge would definitely fatal. Just one small slip, and she'd be gone forever. Emily didn't want to lose Maya-not now, not ever.

"Oh relax, I've done this a million times" Maya assured her, but Emily was unconvinced. She was standing on the roof now, her black boots wandering up and down its top. "You coming or not?"  
Emily gulped in disbelief. Was she serious? She wanted her to get up there?

"Are you mental? I'll fall!" Maya shook her head, and reached out her hand.

"Come on, I'll help you" she beckoned. Emily sighed. She knew she would lose, so she grabbed Maya's seemingly sweaty hand and hauled herself up onto the rock, and then onto the roof.

"See? Wasn't so bad" Maya wiped a drop of sweat off her forehead. Emily looked down, and her stomach did a backflip. It must have been at least a hundred foot drop.

"Get away from the edge, or you will fall" Maya grabbed her forearm and pulled her back to the flat ledge that she as standing on.

"Can we get down now?" Emily pleaded "Before we're both just another page in Hogwarts A History. Maya laughed.

"Can you imagine? _Two second years, Fields and St Germain, fell 100 feet to their death after climbing on the wooden bridge_ "

"It's not funny!" Emily gave her a small punch "Can we just get down now? Please?"

Maya shook her head.

"You honestly think I brought you up here so we could stand on the top of a bridge for 30 seconds?" she laughed. Emily looked confused.

"Then why did you bring me here?"  
Maya didn't say anything else, but held out her hand for Emily to hold. Emily understood, and grabbed it reluctantly. Then, to her surprise, Maya started running back towards the castle.

"What the hell?" Emily shouted over the wind. One slight movement out of place, and they'd both fall. They were running over a small flat ledge over a 100 foot drop.

"Just trust me" Maya repeated. As much as Emily did trust Maya, she had her doubts about wherever she was taking her. "I've done this a million times"  
"Why?" Emily screamed. Maya just laughed again, and came to a stop when they reached the point that the bridge joined onto the castle itself.

"Are you mad? What if someone sees us!" Emily whispered, trying to make sure that no one would hear the two hooligans on the roof.

"No one's gonna be looking" Maya promised "Come on, follow me"  
And then she climbed onto the castle. The roof of the castle. Emily widened her eyes, but followed.

"Has no one ever seen you come up here?" she asked.

"Filch has seen me a couple times" she told her "But I think he just thought I was a large bird or a cat or something"

This was not comforting.

They had reached one of the high points of the castles roof, and Maya sat down, patting the tiles next to her inviting Emily to sit down.

"This can't be legal" Emily muttered, sitting down next to her friend.

"It's probably not" Maya shrugged "But look at that view"  
Emily did look at the view, and found it was beautiful. The sun was just setting, and the sky was turning into a deep shade of orangey-red. There were birds flying, and all you could see was their silhouettes as they flew through the trees of the countryside.

"It's-"

"Beautiful?" Maya finished "Yeah, I know. You should see it in the morning too. It's the best way to start the day"

There was a silence after that, but it was a perfect silence. The kind of silence when your around someone that you don't need to say anything to for them to know your thoughts. The kind of silence that just said 'everything's okay'

Until it was broken.

"Do you miss her?"

Emily turned her head to Maya, confused as to what she'd just said.

"Miss who?" she answered. Maya bit her lip slightly.

"Alison" she said "Do you miss her?"  
"She's not dead" Emily laughed, but instantly stopped after she saw that Maya wasn't laughing.

"I know that" she told her "But she was your best friend. You used to talk to her every day, and then suddenly it just stopped. Do you miss her?"  
Emily shrugged. Truth was, she did miss her. She missed her more than her life was worth, and she wanted nothing more than to be her friend again. She missed talking to her, but there was hardly anything she could do about it. She had been so mean to her, and vica versa. It had been such a long time since they fell out, and Alison probably wouldn't want to be friends with her anyway.

"It's be 3 months" Emily said "But yeah, I do miss her. Why do you ask?" Maya turned her head away a little, and rubbed the back of her neck.

"My dad left in the summer" she said simply. Emily frowned.

"I'm so sorry" she said, not knowing what else to say. Maya smirked in pain.

"It's okay, no ones fault" she told her "I don't think so anyway. I haven't spoken to him since- he just up and left without saying anything"

Emily felt an immense pain for her friend, and gently placed her hand over hers. Maya looked up, and smiled.

"What about your mum?" Emily asked, a few moments later regretting she had.

"She died when I was 9" Maya explained "Cancer" Emily saw a small tear trickle down her face.

"Aren't there magical cures for that?" she asked in confused. Maya bowed her head again.

"My mum was a muggle" she admitted "And so was my dad"

She let Emily put the rest of the pieces together.

"You're muggleborn" she stated. Maya nodded her head. Not in shame, but in confession.

"Yep" she said "Freaky, huh? A muggleborn Slytherin. I think I'm the first one, and I don't belong in that house. Not one bit"  
That was when Emily felt bad for her. She had no idea that Maya was muggleborn. She just assumed, like all Slytherins, she was either a Pureblood or Halfblood.

"So who do you live with?" she asked her.

"My grandma" Maya nodded "She's a nice lady, but she doesn't know about me. Mum didn't want to scare her when I got my Hogwarts letter, so she told me that she sent me to some fancy boarding school up North. She has no idea"

"So who do you do your school shopping and stuff with?"

"I go alone" Maya said "No one else to go with, really. Truth is, I end up stealing most stuff, as I have no wizarding money of my own. Other times I tag along with some of my friends in the other houses, and their parents end up lending me a little money out of pity"

"Lending?"

Maya smirked "Well giving, really. I never do end up giving any of it back"

This made them both laugh a little, but they snapped out of it once they remembered what they were talking about.

"You can come shopping with me and my mom next year" Emily suddenly said. Maya smiled and looked up at her.

"You mean that?" she asked "Your mum wouldn't mind?" Emily shook her head.

"My mum let Alison stay with us for two weeks over Easter last year because her parents kicked her out, I'm sure she wouldn't mind bringing you along for a shopping trip"  
And there it was- she had mentioned Alison again. Maya asking if she missed her just made her miss her even more. She started thinking about her. About her funny personality and sassy comments. She thought about the time that Alison had stayed with her and her mom for two weeks, and remember how those two weeks had been some of the best she had ever had. But being friends with Alison probably meant not being friends with Maya, and Emily didn't know whether she could stand to lose another friend.

"You're a truly special person, Emily Fields" Maya said, resting her head on Emily's shoulder.

"Just no swearing in front of her" Emily joked "She hates all that bad language. Alison slipped up in front of her a couple times, and she practically went mental"

Maya lifted her head up from Emily's shoulder.

"You're doing it again" she told her. Emily was confused.

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Talking about Alison" Maya finished "You know, I really wouldn't have minded if you'd sat with Alison on the horseless carriages"

"It's not just about that" Emily said "It's about-"  
"About me?"  
Emily nodded, too scared to say it herself. But Maya simply held onto her hand again, and laced her fingers through Emily's.

"She'll grow to like me one day" she said "She just doesn't like that you're not all hers anymore"  
"I don't _belong_ to anyone" Emily suddenly jerked her hand away.

"You know that's not what I meant" Maya said "I just meant...you know what I meant"  
"She's jealous" Emily said.

Maya nodded, too scared to say it herself.

"Can we stop talking about Alison now?" Emily asked. Maya didn't say anything, but all mention of Alison was stopped.

The sun was almost down now, and the birds that had been flying around were all nested in the trees. Maya's head was again resting on Emily's shoulder, and Emily was gently running her fingers through her friends hair. In that moment, there was nowhere else that either of them would rather be.

Until the silence was interrupted.

"What's that?" the grumpy voice of Argus Filch could be heard. Both girls turned around, to find the ugly face of the Hogwarts caretaker peering at them through the window they were sitting in front of. Stupid idea to sit in front of a window.

"Shit, we gotta run" Maya grabbed hold of Emily's hand and yanked her up, quicker than either of them could look back. They ran down Hogwart's sloped roof, and across the top of the death-drop bridge. Finally, they reached the rock that they had both climbed up and jumped down, grazing their knees.

"You think he saw who we were?" Emily asked, panting.

"Don't think so" Maya panted back "He's going blind in his old age, the poor guy. And Mrs Norris isn't much better"


	31. A Christmas Miracle

Christmas had finally rolled around, in all its glory. Maya had gotten the train home, and there was no one in the Gryffindor dorms other than Alison. When Emily woke up, she was careful not to wake the other girl.

She frowned. Last year, Christmas had been the best day she had had all year. She was so excited for it, and she got to spend it with someone who she called her best friend. But now...nothing was the same. Sure, she had Hanna, Spencer and Aria in the castle, but she wouldn't be waking up with them. They would be elsewhere having fun opening their presents, and Emily would awkwardly be sat by the fireplace with a person who didn't even want to talk to her. Carefully, Emily slipped out of her bed and tiptoed down the stairs.

Emily may not be in the Christmas spirit, but the Gryffindor common room sure was. It was decorated in various different Christmas coloured items, with the iconic Hogwarts Christmas tree sat at the fireplace. There were so many presents, half of them hers half of them Alison's.

Some part of her wished that she was opening her presents with Alison, but she knew that that would only be extremely awkward. So slowly and reluctantly, she began ripping open the paper.

Her first present was a large case of sugar quills from Toby, attached with a note reading

' _For when you get hungry in class, Tobs x_ '.

Emily grinned and instantly started sucking on one of the quills. The next was a jar of Fizzing Whizzbees, attached with a note reading

' _For my favourite little seeker, Ezra_ '.

Emily felt bad-she hadn't gotten Ezra anything.

She had gotten a packet of iced mice from Caleb Rivers, a box of Droobles gum from Aria, from Hanna (with her amazing sense of humour), had given her a case of butterbeer, she received a Ginny Weasley bobble-head from Spencer, a muggle pair of shoes called 'Doc Martins' from Maya, and a huge Christmas cake from her mum and dad, with a note reading ' _Don't eat it all, make sure you share some with Alison!_ "

Emily sighed. She realised that her parents didn't know about her and Alison, and decided it was best for them not to know. Some part of her still hoped that things would pull through, and Alison would come running back. Looking down at her torso, she realised she was wearing the vintage Gryffindor hoodie that Alison had given her last Christmas. Bringing it up to her face, she realised that it still smelled like her from all the times she had borrowed it.

It had been a while now since Emily got up, and Alison still hadn't come downstairs. Maybe she was embarrassed, she thought. Or maybe she didn't want to open her presents. After all, Alison didn't 'do Christmas'.

Emily was well over halfway through all the sweets she had received for Christmas, when she noticed something. There was a brightly wrapped boxed hiding behind the back of the Christmas tree. Strange, she thought. She hadn't noticed it before. Reaching over to grab the large mysterious present, she saw that the word 'Emily' was scribbled on the side. It took most of her strength to haul the box over to where she was sitting, and she curiously examined it. It was long, but not incredibly tall. Wondering what it could be, Emily started ripping open the paper.

No. No, it couldn't be. Maybe she was reading it wrong. All the wrapping paper had been torn off the present, and there was now a box underneath it. The box had a picture of a very shiny looking broom on it, and on the front in big letters read

 _ **Firebolt 3.0**_

Holy shit. These hadn't even released in stores yet, had they? It was clearly from her dad- no one else she knew would be able to get in touch with the people that made these things. But how did he know that her old one had broke, and she needed a new one?  
"Holy fucking Christ" Emily ripped open the box and held the shiny broom out in front of her.

"Do you like it?"

Emily turned around, and standing there in shorts and a t shirt was Alison Dilaurentis. She was fidgeting with her fingers, and glancing hopefully at Emily.

"You?" Emily questioned, stepping slowly towards her "You got me this?" Alison nodded her head.

"How did you do this?" Emily put the broom down, in fear that she would get too excited and end up throwing the broom over the other side of the room "These brooms have only just been thought of! There's only like 3 of them in existence at the moment, and they're all still in the factory!"  
Alison shrugged her shoulders, and started walking towards Emily slowly.

"My dad knows a guy" she said simply "A-actually, that was the second one ever made. I was gonna give you the first, but the manufacturers were worried that because it was the first one, things could go wrong and, well, that was the next best thing" Emily smiled harder than she had smiled in a long time, still staring at Alison in disbelief.

"But why?" she eventually managed to say "I thought you hated me. That you didn't want to talk to me-"  
"I could never hate you, Emily Fields" Alison interrupted her, tears on the verge of exploding all over her face "I-I admit, I acted like a jealous bitch, and truth was that I was" Emily said nothing. She was expecting an apology some time soon, and knew that she needed to give one as well.

"I'm so sorry, Em" Alison was almost crying now "I just didn't like the thought of you having a best friend that wasn't me. I-I thought she was trying to steal you from me, and I got defensive, but I shouldn't have! I had no right to say any of the stuff that I said, because you don't belong to anyone. I've seen you around with Maya and she seems like a great person and she makes you laugh, and it made me realise that I was being selfish and-"

And then she started crying. Real tears, like Emily had never seen her cry before. So, she did the one thing that she knew would help. Emily ran over to her best friend, and wrapped her arms around her.

"I would never replace you with anyone" Emily whispered to her, as Alison sobbed into her shoulder "You should have known that. And you didn't have to get me this broom- if you had just said something I would've come running back straight away"

"It was kinda my fault that you're other one broke in the first place" she was wiping away her tears "If I hadn't have given you that hint about the snitch, then maybe you would've caught it in a normal environment"

"But I also wouldn't have won the game in record timing" Emily reminded her. Alison pursed her lips, realising that this was the truth.

"I'm so sorry, Em" Alison buried her head into Emily's shoulder, and grabbed her hoodie tightly.

"You don't have to apologise" Emily assured her "You're always gonna be my best friend, no matter what"

"E-even though we haven't spoken in 4 months?" Alison sobbed, but also half laughed. Emily joined in the half laughter.

"Yes, even though we haven't spoken for 4 months" she assured her "I-I'm sorry too, Ali"  
"For what?"  
"For not sitting with you on the horseless carriages"

Alison laughed, and looked up at her friend, who instantly laughing too. For a few moments, they were both lost in their own laughter. It had suddenly turned out to be one of the best Christmas's Emily had ever had. She helped Alison open her presents, and ate sweets, and drank butterbeer until they both realised that it was lunch time, and time to go down to the Great Hall.

They had both been so lost in their own happiness, that they forgot to talk about probably the only thing they should have talked about. Sure, it might have just been a hallucination...but what if it wasn't?

"We wish you a Merry Christmas-"  
"We wish you a Merry Christmas-"  
"We WISH you a Merry Christmas-"  
"AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR"  
Emily and Alison came running in the Great Hall, both with a bottle of butter beer in their hands, Alison on Emily's back and clinging onto her neck, and loudly singing Christmas carols. Alison was wearing Emily's Gryffidor hoodie on top of her pyjamas, and Emily was wearing her pyjamas with a maroon cape over the top of them. Several heads had turned, and people were giving them strange glances. They reached the table that Hanna Spencer and Aria were sat, and stood at the end of the table.

"Aw, shit" Spencer mumbled as Emily and Alison came bounding over.

"And what a fucking Merry Christmas it is!" Hanna shouted, jumping up on her chair.

"Why, Han?" Emily asked, still holding on tight to Alison.

"Because Spencer owes me 5 galleons!"

Spencer groaned, and reluctantly shoved her hand into her pockets, and giving Hanna the money.

"For what?" Alison asked.

"We made a bet that you two would be friends by Christmas" Hanna explained "And technically, Christmas isn't over, so I won the bet!"

"It's a Christmas miracle" Spencer added, dropping the last of her money into Hanna's hand.  
"Woooo!" Emily cheered, standing on top of the table "MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS HOGWARTS!" she shouted. Everyone in the Great Hall cheered.

"Why am I friends with you people" Spencer smacked her face with her hands.

"Because you looooovvvveee us" Aria teased, waving her fork in front of Spencer's face.

"Eh" Spencer flicked the fork out of her hand "Sometimes"  
"Look what Sean got me for Christmas!" Hanna suddenly started waving her wrist in the air, and Alison caught it to try and see what she was talking about. Clipped around Hanna's wrist was a gold bracelet with what looked to be half of a heart with half of the Hufflepuff house symbol inside of it as a charm. There was also another charm, the letter H.

"Sean has the other half" Hanna explained. Aria took her wrist and started admiring the bracelet.

"It's so cute!" she squealed  
"It's cringey" Spencer mumbled. Alison rolled her eyes and lightly slapped Spencer round the beck of her head.

"Lighten' up cousin, it's Christmas!" she yelled "Where's your Christmas spirit?"

Spencer couldn't help but smile, and to everyone's surprise, jumped up onto the table.

"AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!" she shouted, turning the heads of the students of Hogwarts.

"There, enough spirit for you?"


	32. The Triangle

It would be an understatement to say that things got better after Emily and Alison made up. Alison and Maya had finally started becoming as friendly as they could be, Gryffindor won their second match of the season and most importantly, Emily and Alison had their best friends back. Everything was going well-almost too well.

It was now nearing the end of February, and much to everyone's delight it had been snowing overnight.

"Grab your snow suits, men" Hanna came charging into the great hall dressed in a coat and wearing a woolly hat and gloves.  
"Don't tell me you want to go outside in this nonsense" Spencer asked. Hanna threw something at her, that looked like a pair of yellow gloves.

"It's not nonsense, it's snow!" she shouted, throwing gloves at the rest of the girls.

"But it's so cold!" Emily complained.

"Then put a coat on!" Hanna rolled her eyes "Oh come on, don't tell me you're not up to having a snowball fight"

"You're joking, right?" Alison laughed "What are we, eight years old?"

"You only live once!" Hanna protested "And who knows, one of us could die tonight, and would any of you really want your dying thought to be 'Damn, I really should've lived a little today and had a snowball fight with my friends'?"  
"I'm almost 100% certain that none of us are going to die tonight" Spencer rolled her eyes.  
"This is not my point!" Hanna flicked her forehead "Oh come on, please? For me? For your friend Hanna"  
The other four girls exchanged sceptical glances, but eventually sighed simultaneously.

"Can I least wear my own house colours?" Alison finally said. Hanna grinned.

"If you must" she joked "But be quick, while it's still snowing. It's fun that way"

"Can I bring Maya?" Emily asked. Alison frowned slightly. She was friendly with Maya, but still got a little jealous every time Emily spoke about her.

"It would be insulting if you didn't" Hanna winked.

"I don't know, Em, I haven't had a snowball fight in like 4 years" Maya laughed.

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad" Emily pleaded "It's just a bit of fun, is all"

"But it's so cold!" Maya complained. Emily chuckled.

"That's what I said" she told her "But just put a coat on or something. Come on, it'll be boring without you" Maya looked up at her, and the two found themselves staring into each others eyes. It took about 20 seconds for them to realise what they were doing, and instantly snapped out of it.

"Fine" Maya gave in "But if you ruin my hair, Emily Fields, there will be consequences"

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Hogwarts annual snowball fight!" Hanna mocked holding a microphone, and everyone cheered.

"Don't overdo it" Spencer said. Hanna stuck her tongue out.

"Rules are" she continued "If someone taps out, then you instantly must stop the snow-throwing, no ice balls, no blatant snowballs to the face, no teaming up and every man for himself"  
"Woman!" Aria shouted.

"I assumed that would be obvious, yes" Hanna said "Does anyone have any questions before the game begins?" Alison raised her hand.

"How do you win this game?" she asked. Hanna panicked.

"Anyone that doesn't tap out is the winner" she finally said "Anymore questions?"  
"Yeah, can I go back inside?" Spencer asked. Hanna stuck her tongue out again.

"No you may not!" she shouted "On that note...let the game begin!"

Snow was instantly thrown everywhere, and no one could tell who they were hitting. Aria got a good hit on Maya, Spencer got a good hit on Hanna (to no ones surprise), and Emily got a hit on Alison right on the back of her head.

"That's not allowed!" Alison joked. Emily smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"Who's gonna believe you?" she teased. Alison threw a snowball in her face "Hey, that's even more not allowed!" Emily wiped the snow off her face.

"You did it first!" Alison said. Emily threw another at her arm, and then on her torso.  
"Ref, ref! This girl's abusing me!" Alison shouted.

"Don't go crying to Hanna just because you're bad at the game" Emily teased again. Alison pulled a mocking face at her, and hurled another snowball at her. And then another, and then another, and then another.

"Hey, stop it!" Emily shielded her face with her arms and tried to back away.

"Make me" Alison replied.

"Oh, I'll make you, alright" Emily picked up a small block of ice and hit her in the leg.

"Hey, that's against the rules!" Alison shouted

"Fuck the rules" Emily threw another snowball at her, and ran in the opposite direction.

They were now around half an hour into the game. Aria had tapped out, and Hanna seemed to be dominating everyone with her huge snowballs and tactics. Emily suddenly spotted Maya, and decided to throw a snowball at her back.

"I told you not to ruin my hair!" Maya shouted, throwing a snowball back at Emily.

"That hit your back, not your hair" Emily argued. Maya shrugged  
"Come on, I wanna show you something" Maya held out her hand, and beckoned for Emily to grab it.

"Why should I trust you?" Emily whispered menacingly. Maya smirked.

"Oh come on, what's the worst I could do?" she asked "Actually, don't answer that"  
"I don't know, you could smush my face with a load of snow and bury my in a well" Emily shrugged. Maya raised an eyebrow and grabbed Emily's wrist.

"Why did that take such a dark turn?" she asked, attempting to yank Emily's wrist.

"Because you're a dark person" Emily joked. Maya slapped her lightly on the forehead.

"Don't be a baby, just come with me" she insisted. Emily rolled her eyes in defeat, and let Maya drag her away.

"Won't the others wonder where we are?" Emily asked suddenly "I mean, we're disappearing to god knows where, and-"

"Let them wonder" Maya said simply. Emily wondered what that meant, but didn't ponder over it for too long. Finally, they reached some sort of clearing.

"There's nothing here" she said immediately. Maya let go of her wrist, and started creeping around.

"Don't say anything" she held a hand in front of Emily's face "Otherwise it won't come"

"What won't come?"  
"I said don't say anything!" Emily pulled a confused face, but crept around alongside her friend. After a few minutes, she was beginning to think that Maya was pulling some kind of prank. Until suddenly, Maya stopped dead in her tracks.

"Look" she whispered, pointing a finger at a mound of snow.

"I don't see anything" Emily whispered back.

"That's because you're not looking" Maya answered "Look again"  
So she looked again, and she saw it. The mound of snow had moved, and in its place was a white rabbit. It had snowy white fur, and tall furry ears. It was hopping around gently in the snow.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Maya whispered, smiling at the rabbit. Emily couldn't help but smile too.

"Yeah, it is" she replied, still gaping at the rabbit. It was leaving tracks in the snow, and its little pink tail was poking out from a small pile of it.

"How did you find it?" Emily asked, still whispering.

"By looking" was Maya's reply. Emily rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she wished Maya wasn't so cryptic with the things she said.

"Was that what you brought me here for?" Emily asked, careful not to talk too loudly.

"Yes" Maya told her "But also to do this!"  
And just as Emily had earlier suspected, Maya picked up a pile of snow and smushed it in her face. Emily froze solid, and spat pieces of snow out of her mouth.

"You are so dead, Maya St Germain!" she laughed, wiping the snow off of her freezing cold face and making a snowball. Maya was running around her in circles, and Emily threw the snowball.

"Missed!" Maya taunted. Emily picked up another pile of snow, and threw it at her friend.

"Didn't miss that time" Emily shrugged. Maya retaliated by forming another huge snowball, and chasing Emily with it.

"I'm faster than you, Em!" she called as Emily kept running. Eventually, Maya caught up to Emily and pushed her to the ground, tripping and falling on top of her. Within seconds, the snowball had been smushed in Emily's face.

"Jeez, that's freezing!" Emily wiped the snow off her face, and the two girls laughed. They laughed for a long time, until they realised what position they were in.

Maya was still on top of Emily, who was now propped up on her elbows. The laughter died down, and Maya was giving Emily a very serious look. Somehow, Emily knew what was coming. She didn't try to stop it.

"Emily?" Maya whispered, staring into the taller girl's eyes.

"Yeah?" Emily whispered back.

"Can I kiss you?"  
Emily didn't say anything back, she just nodded. And then, before she knew it, Maya's lips were on hers. It was only brief and momentary, but it felt long overdue. Emily's face turned red, partly from how cold the snow was making her, and partly from what had just happened.

"Come on" Maya stood up slowly, and held her hand out for Emily to grab. Or rather, hold. "Let's go back".

Neither of the girls said a word as they headed back to their friends. Neither of them really knew what to say, and it was a relief when they spotted the cold faces of Hanna, Spencer, Aria and Alison.

"Where have you guys been?" Spencer asked. Emily and Maya glanced at each other, blushed slightly, and bowed their heads.

"We thought the snow monster got you!" Aria gasped. Spencer rolled her eyes.

"There's no such bloody thing" she growled. Aria shrugged.

"Well, there might be!" she argued "You never know in Hogwarts. Anything can happen"

Alison was glaring at Emily, and then at Maya, and then back at Emily. She noticed a look on their faces...a look that she couldn't quite place. But one thing she knew for certain- something had happened in that mysterious half hour that they had been gone. Alison had a slight suspicion, but something deep inside her hoped she was wrong. Surely not, right?  
"What were you doing?" she stupidly asked. Emily shrugged her shoulders and looked at Maya.

"We were chasing a rabbit" she told them. Alison raised her eyebrows, unconvinced.

"Well you're the last two standing" Hanna said "Aria tapped out first thing, Spencer shoved snow down my pants and then Alison tipped some down her back-"  
"Hey, I'm still standing!" Alison interrupted.

"Oh yeah" Hanna realized "Well, it's just the 3 of you then. May the best woman win!"  
Without knowing it, the girls had formed themselves into a triangle. Alison stared evilly at Maya, and then at Emily. As fast as she could, she ran towards the two girls and pushed them both into the snow.

"Ahh, Jeez Ali! I surrender!" Emily's voice muffled, her face being pushed into the snow.

"Me too!" Maya muffled. Alison let go of both their heads, and stood up.

"Alison wins!" Hanna shouted, holding Alison's arm into the air with victory.

"Yeah" Maya muttered, so only Emily could hear "But not really"

The two girls smirked, and laced their fingers together.

 **Again, this is not turning into an Emaya story! I promise, just keep reading.**


	33. Almost 100 Percent Sure

Emily and Maya were heading back to the Great Hall, alone together. Neither of them had spoken a word since the snowball fight, but it wasn't awkward. It was like a perfect silence. The rest of the girls were still outside, but Maya wanted to talk to Professor McGonagall about something and Emily had offered to go with her. As if Maya would have wanted anyone else.

There were a thousand thoughts racing through Emily's mind. The main one being _she'd just kissed a girl_. An actual girl. What the fuck. Girls weren't supposed to kiss other girls! She wasn't sure she even like Maya like that, but at the same time she was certain. Sure, she'd thought about kissing Maya in the past, but she thought that was just 'you're pretty and I wouldn't mind kissing you'. But maybe it wasn't. So why had she let Maya kiss her? Why did she say yes? She couldn't deny, holding hands with Maya made her feel a tingling inside her stomach. And whenever she was around her, she found herself becoming nervous. Was she attracted to Maya? Definitely. And the kiss definitely hadn't been a mistake. It was like they had both been waiting for it to happen for a long time, and here it was. But now it was over. Emily wondered if there would be more.

Every now and then, Emily would feel Maya's fingers brush up against her own, and she would catch them momentarily. The two exchanged glances, and blushed.

"Hi" Maya suddenly said.

"Hi" Emily said back, looking at Maya still.

And then the silence came again. The kind of tension silence. It wasn't good, nor was it bad.

Suddenly Emily wanted to run away with Maya. She wanted nothing more than to grab her hand and just run. Maya looked over at her and smirked.

But that's when it all changed. All the ghosts that had been floating around the corridor had suddenly disappeared. Maya and Emily both came to a stand still at the same time, and looked each other.

"You saw that too, right?" Maya asked.

"Yeah" Emily nodded, looking around and waiting for the ghosts to come back. But they didn't.

"It was like-" Maya started saying

"-something scared them off" Emily finished.

And then it went cold. Deathly cold, as if they had just walked into the frozen aisle in the supermarket. At the exact same time, Maya and Emily reached for each others hands.

"Em, what's happening?" Emily could feel Maya's hand shaking against her own. She had never seen Maya scared of something. She had always assumed that Maya feared nothing-clearly she was wrong.

"I don't know" Emily said, truthfully "Maybe the heating cut out or something"  
But she knew the heating hadn't cut out. Heck, there was no heating. Hogwarts ran on firepower. Maya suddenly tugged against Emily's coat, and pointed at something at the end of the corridor.

"W-what's that?" she stammered.

There was a dark silhouette stood at the end of the corridor near the Great Hall. It wasn't moving, and although the girls couldn't see its eyes, it seemed to be staring into their soul. Emily suddenly got a sickly feeling of deja vu.

"Well well well"

The voice was chilling, yet so recognizable. Emily knew who it was the second she heard it.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Bellatrix" Emily breathed "W-what are you doing here?" Bellatrix laughed. No, cackled.

"You thought your little friend's freezing charm would hold me off forever?" she replied, stepping towards Emily and Maya. Maya squeezed Emily's hand harder than she already was.

"Em, what's happening" Maya whispered "Who is that?"  
"Ooooh, a friend!" Bellatrix laughed "Who's this?" Maya looked up at Emily, a look of fear swarming in her eyes.

"M-Maya" Emily answered. Bellatrix cackled again, and pulled down her hood, revealing her frizzy and messy black hair and dangerous dark eyes.

"Hiya Maya!" she laughed "Bye-a Maya! _Avada Kedavra_!"

"Maya!"  
Before Emily could do anything to stop it, Maya fell to the ground. Her eyes were still open, and staring at the ceiling with fear. Her body had turned limp and cold.

"Woopsie!" Bellatrix twirled her wand around her finger "Collateral damage, really."

Emily held on to Maya's jacket, tears swarming furiously in her eyes. She gently used her fingers to close Maya's eyelids, and stood up.

"You killed her" Emily hissed "YOU KILLED HER"

Bellatrix laughed again, and held her wand out in front of her.

"Oh really?" she said "I meant to kill you really. _Avada Kedavra!_ "  
But Emily was quicker than that. She instantly pulled her wand up and muttered a defence spell, causing the two spells to clash in the middle of Bellatrix and Emily. It created a sort of fireball.

Tears were streaming down Emily's face now. She wanted desperately to just disappear into thin air, and for none of this to ever have happened. But more importantly, she wanted Maya back. The realization that she was dead hadn't hit her yet, and it was like she was still confused.

"I'm stronger than you, Emily!" Bellatrix shouted over the noise of the 'fireball'

"What do you want?!" Emily shouted, putting all the effort she could into this defence spell. One small slip, and she would be dead. Dead like Maya.

"You know exactly what I want" Bellatrix told her "I want your friend Alison"

"You didn't have to kill Maya!" Emily cried. Bellatrix shrugged sarcastically.

"I know" she said "But I did anyway"  
Emily clenched her jaw. She wiped away her tears with her free hand, and tensed her arm into the defence spell. She was not going to die today.

"The work of the Dark Lord shall be continued!" Bellatrix laughed menacingly.

"You're wrong!" Emily shouted "Alison would never do dark magic, she's not like that! You've got the wrong girl!" Bellatrix rolled her eyes, although it was hard to tell over the ball of fire.

"I told you, who said she'd do it out of choice?" she cackled. "You're the only thing in the way of me controlling her. Stupid girl, thinking you can defeat me alone"  
"Who said she was alone?"  
Emily turned her head, to find Alison standing in the entrance with her wand held out in front of her. The blonde girl jerked her wand and sparks flew out of it, knocking Bellatrix to the floor and breaking the spell collision.

"There she is!" Bellatrix picked up her wand "Goody goody, just who I wanted to see!"  
"You're never gonna get me" Alison ran and stood next to Emily and held out her wand "McGonagall's on her way here, so you better run or else"  
"I'm sooooo scared" Bellatrix laughed sarcastically. But sure enough, in a puff of spoke, she had disappeared from her spot. Emily collapsed to her knees next to Maya's body.

"Em" Alison awkwardly knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder "Em, I'm so sorry"  
But Emily didn't say anything more. She wrapped her arms around Alison Dilaurentis, and cried.

 **Sorry for the short chapter. Told you this wasn't an Emaya story ;)**


	34. Always

"Students of Hogwarts, we gather here today to remember one of our own, Maya St Germain"

Professor McGonagall stood at the podium at the front of the Great Hall. All the students and teachers were sat around in chairs, and Slytherin green banners hung from the ceiling.

"Maya was a bright student, and a wonderful girl" McGonagall continued, wiping one of her eyes. A few of the kids in Slytherin were silently crying and comforting each other, including Noel Kahn.

"Those of us who had the privilege of knowing her will know that Maya was a bit of a troublemaker" A few faint laughs from the students and teachers "But this only meant that she was more creative and had a brighter soul than most"

Emily looked around the room, but she wasn't crying. She had cried enough over the past few days, and was now just feeling a sense of numbness. Aria and Hanna had taken to shedding a few tears, Spencer and Alison comforting them. But Emily just sat in silence, staring up at the green flags, and thinking how wrong it was that Maya was in that house in the first place.

"Now many of you are wondering how Maya's death came to be" McGonagall continued "And I can reveal that the person that did this is not a friend, but an outsider. The same person that last year, kidnapped Alison Dilaurentis"  
Alison shifted in her seat, as a few kids glanced over at her and whispered things.

"I promise you, students of Hogwarts, that this person will be caught and will be stopped. Hogwarts will become a safe place again" A few more whispers from the crowd. "Now, let us sit in a minute of silence to remember our own, Maya St Germain"

And so they sat in silence. Emily knew that most of them weren't really thinking about Maya- not really. But she was. She thought about everything. Her smile, her laugh, her eyes, what had happened during the snowball fight. And so, once again, Emily silently started to cry.

It had been a week since Maya died, and people were starting to forget about her. Soon after the assembly, Professor McGonagall had taken her body to her grandmother. No one knew what she had told the poor woman, but McGonagall had been with her grandmother for a few days to calm her down. People lit candles around the Slytherin common room, she had heard, and there was a shrine of pictures and teddy bears sat on her bed. Emily wondered how the rest of the Slytherin girls slept in a room with a shrine to a dead girl, and then told herself off for referring to Maya as 'the dead girl'.

Nobody had really laughed since Maya died. Lunch was particularly awkward, as Emily hadn't spoken a single word since the assembly. It was mainly Hanna trying to be funny, and Spencer telling her to shut up and stop being so inconsiderate. Emily wished that she wouldn't, because if there was one thing she needed, it was a good laugh.

"What are you guys doing for Easter Break?" Aria asked one day, attempting to break the tension.

"Nothing much" Alison replied "It's not like my parents let me go anywhere anyway"

"I'm going to Florida with my parents" Spencer said, fidgeting with her hands.

"Oh cool" Aria replied, bowing her head. Nobody said anything more from there. They all just sat in silence and let their eyes dart around the room. Until someone did say something. And to no one's surprise, that someone was Hanna.

"Okay this is ridiculous"  
The girls jolted their heads up in surprise, as Hanna's tone sounded almost angry.

"What's ridiculous?" Alison asked. Hanna stood up dramatically.

"This!" she shouted "Look, I'm just as sad as the rest of you about Maya's death and I miss her like crazy. I mean, let's be real, that girl was quite the character. But she's been dead for over a week now and we still haven't actually had a proper bloody conversation!"

"Han!" Spencer hissed, her eyes darting over to Emily's "Stop"  
"No I will not stop!" Hanna shouted back "We can't sit around like this forever. Maya's gone, and sitting around in silence isn't gonna bring her back"

"She has a point" Aria suddenly said, but very quietly. Spencer whipped her head round to her.

"Not you too" she whispered "Guys, be more considerate-"  
"No!" Hanna interrupted "Do you guys really think that's what Maya would want? For us to sit around moping and crying for the rest of eternity?"

"That's not the point, Han, it's just that-"  
"Let me finish! If Maya were here, she'd probably slap us all for acting like such babies. There's only so much mourning we can do, and sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves isn't gonna make it any better!"  
"Okay, you need to stop" Spencer muttered.

"No" Emily said. Everyone turned their heads to her in surprise, as she hadn't spoken a single word to anyone for over a week "No, she's right"  
"What?" Spencer asked. Hanna simply grinned, and stuck her tongue out at Spencer.

"I mean, she's right" Emily stood up too, and grabbed her bag.

"Maya was wild and wacky person" Hanna continued "If she were here, she'd want us to do one final thing to remember her, and then move on with our lives"  
"Like what?" Alison asked.

"Like" Hanna thought for a while "Like a party"  
"You're joking" Spencer scoffed "A party? That sounds like we're celebrating her death"  
"Not celebrating her death" Hanna told her "Celebrating her life. How about it? In the Easter Break, we'll gather everyone to the beach or something for a little remembrance party. Light a few candles, sing her favourite song, let off one of those Chinese Lanterns and give her a proper last remembrance"  
"Maya wasn't Chinese!" Aria insisted. Everyone laughed a little for the first time in a while.

"We know" Spencer laughed "People light Chinese Lanterns and let them so as a symbol of letting go, and having a new beginning"  
"Exactly!" Hanna yelled "It would be a great way to remember her. And everyone would come, even the Slytherins. My mum knows a guy with a beach house, I'm sure he'd let us use it. We could light a bonfire and my mums friend could do us a barbecue and-"

"What's a barbecue?" Alison interrupted. Hanna slapped her face to her forehead.

"You know, when people go outside and roast meat and stuff over a grill" Spencer explained.

"That sounds complicated" Alison rolled her eyes.  
"Complicated" Emily suddenly said. Spencer raised an eyebrow wonderingly.

"Huh?" she asked.

"The name of her favourite song" Emily replied in a sort of whisper "It's by Avril Lavigne. Maya loved her" Noticable tears started welling up in her eyes, but she tried to hide them.

"Then that's what we'll do" Hanna said "I'll buy a couple Avril Lavigne albums, and we'll blast them on Spencer's stereo. It'll be cool" Everyone looked at Emily for approval, and she nodded, smiling through her tears.

"It's what Maya would have wanted" she agreed "I-I gotta g-go"  
Emily ran off, tears streaming down her face. The girls looked at one another, all of them worrying.

"One of us should go after her" Aria finally suggested. Alison stood up immediately, grabbing her bag.

"I'll go" she said. And before anyone could say anything else, she had run off.

Emily sat on the roof of Hogwarts, her knees tucked into her chest and tears gently trickling down her face. The sun was just setting, just like the time Maya had brought her up here. There were birds flying in the shadow of the sun in perfect formations, and the sky was turning reddish. This was exactly the time of the day that Maya favourited, and Emily felt it was only right that she spent it up here. She had been scared to climb up the bridge alone, but then imagined Maya was with her, and she wasn't so scared anymore.

"Oh, Maya" she sobbed gently into her knees "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for letting you down, for not helping you" And she imagined Maya sitting down next to her and holding her hand, and telling her that it wasn't her fault. That she never would have been able to defeat that death eater on her own. She probably wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for-

"Alison?"  
Emily spotted her, climbing up onto the roof from the bridge, brushing dust off her robes and adjusting her hair.

"Are you crazy?" she said "What you come up here for? That drop's dangerous, you could've died!"  
"So could you" Emily shrugged "Anyway, what are you doing here? Did you follow me?"  
"Would you kill me if I said yes?"  
Emily shook her head. Somehow, she had been craving company at that moment, even if it wasn't Maya's. Without asking, Alison sat down next to her and stared at the sunset.

"It's beautiful" she breathed, admiring the birds and the red sky "How did you know to come up here?"

"Maya" Emily replied simply "She brought me up here once" Alison didn't say anything more.

"It's not your fault, you know" Alison told her, trying to catch Emily's eye.

"Isn't it?" Emily looked up at her "I didn't believe you when you told me Bellatrix was back. If I'd have believed you, then I would have been more prepared. I would have told her it was too dangerous to be wandering around by ourseves. But I-I thought you were making it up to get on my good side. God, how fucking selfish was I?" Alison put an arm round here, and rubbed her back gently.

"You're not selfish" she assured her "You're really brave. No one else I know would have been able to hold off a death eater for that long. If you weren't strong, you'd be dead"

"You were the one that saved me" Emily whispered "I'd be dead if it weren't for you" Alison couldn't help but smirk.

"Can I tell you something?" she said, with a small grin on her face. Emily nodded "I didn't really call Professor McGonagall that day. I just made it up to scare her. And guess what? It worked"  
Emily smirked too. And then that was the first time she had looked Alison in the eyes for a long time. She remembered how pretty her eyes were, and how pretty this light made her hair look. Her face was still young and innocent. She was still only a kid after all, as they both were. But Emily was sure that she shouldn't have to lose someone so young at this stage of life. Not now, not ever. Maya hadn't even got to turn 14.

"My point is, she's scared" Alison said "She's weak and nervous, and she's not gonna get away with the things she's done. We'll come out on top in the end- heroes always win"  
"I'm no hero" Emily chuckled slightly.

"Yes you are!" Alison insisted "You saved me from a hidden lair last year...you spoke Parseltongue! No one else would have gone down there for me, and fought off a death eater. And no one else would be able to watch their best friend die right in front of their eyes, and then have the strength to do a duel"

"You're my best friend" Emily said instantly.

"Fine then" Alison rolled her eyes "Second best friend. Do you see my point? You're a legend, Fields" Emily smiled. For a moment, she had forgotten about everything. About everything that had happened, and was happening. All she knew was that she was here with Alison Dilaurentis, her best friend, on the roof of a castle watching the sunset.

"Maya wasn't just my second best friend" Emily turned her head away suddenly. "Sh-she was-"  
"I know" Alison interrupted, her face forming a frown suddenly "I know what she was"

Emily looked shocked, and turned her head back towards Alison again. It was getting cold now.

"You do?" she asked in surprise. Alison nodded her head and raised her eyebrows.

"I do" she said "And it's okay. I mean, come on, people have bigger things to worry about than who's kissing who"

"Who told you we kissed?" Emily blushed. Alison laughed.

"Your face" she replied simply "Oh come on, Emily, you're not exactly the greatest at hiding your feelings"  
"Shut up!" Emily laughed, punching Alison playfully on the arm "S-so you're really okay with it?"  
Alison nodded and squeezed her arm tighter round Emily.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she questioned "You're still my best friend, no matter what". Emily rested her head on Alison's shoulder and buried her arms into her torso.

"Always?" she said. Alison nodded and hugged her back.

"Always"


	35. For Maya

Everyone had gone home for Easter break, and the invitations for Maya's remembrance party had been sent out. The tension that circulated the school had died down, and people were talking normally to each other again. Emily was glad of this, which is why she was not looking forward to having to go home. She loved her mum, but it meant that she would have to talk about Maya yet again, and she had just started to get the thought of her dead friend out of her mind.

"Oh my god, Emily!" Emily's mum ran to the end of their garden with her arms outstretched, causing Emily to drop her luggage and join her mum in a hug.

"Hey mum" she smiled into her shoulder, as Pam Fields almost squeezed the living daylights out of her.

"Oh my poor baby Em" she breathed "I am so sorry about your friend" Emily rolled her eyes.

"It's alright mum" she said "Maya died over a month ago, and I'm finally starting to pull myself together again"

She wasn't sure whether this was true or not, but decided to say it anyway.

"Come in, come in, we have a lot to discuss" she beckoned. Emily picked her luggage up again, and hauled it into the front door and slamming it shut behind her. Her mother was sat at the table, and Emily pulled up a chair next to her.

"Was she a good friend of yours?" she asked, holding Emily's hands in her own.

"Yeah" Emily replied coolly. Talking about Maya was the last thing she wanted to be doing, as she felt as if the sadness of her death would come flooding back and she'd be crying like a baby again.

"Was she in Gryffindor?" Pam asked. Emily had been dreading this question.

"No" Emily replied, not saying anything more, as her mother would probably act even weirder about the whole thing if she knew that Maya had been a Slytherin "Mom, I really don't wanna do this right now can I just-"  
"It's better to get it all out honey" Pam assured her, squeezing her hand tighter.

"I have gotten it out" Emily insisted "It's been a month, mom, honestly I'm okay"

"Are you sure, honey?" Pam asked eagerly "Just tell me if you want to talk or anything, or if you're hungry or-"  
"I SAID I'M FINE"

She hadn't mean to shout at her mother,and instantly regretted it after. Her mom let go of her hands and bowed her head shamefully.

"Okay" she said softly. Emily picked up her case, and then Pip, and headed upstairs.

Emily had been lying down on her bed for at least two hours now, and it was starting to get dark out. Pip was asleep in his cage, and Emily hadn't moved from her position since she came upstairs.

She had tried to hold back the thoughts of Maya over the last month, but it was proving difficult. She kept thinking over and over again about the first time she met Maya at the Quidditch World Cup.

 _Hey, who you looking at?_

 _My name's Maya. Maya St Germain._

"Go away" Emily said to her thoughts "I don't need this, go away"

She thought about their first lesson together in the greenhouse when Emily had fainted.

 _You'll be okay, don't worry_

But she hadn't been okay. But she believed Maya because she trusted her. And now she was gone. She thought about the time that Maya had dragged her onto the roof of Hogwarts and watched the sunset.

 _You coming or not?_

 _Are you mental? I'll fall!_

 _I'll help you_

"I couldn't help you" Emily whispered "I'm so sorry, I couldn't. It's all my fault"

 _My dad left in the summer_

Did her dad even know she was dead? Would Maya's grandmother tell him? Surely she would, but what if she didn't. Emily suddenly felt herself feeling sorry for Maya's dad. His daughter was gone, and he wasn't there to do anything, and he might not even know.

 _She died when I was 9_

Maya was with her mom now. Both of them, together in heaven. That was one positive thing.

 _You can come shopping with me and my mom next year_

She'll never get to. There would be no 'next year' for Maya. This one had been her last. And then Emily thought about the last day Maya had been alive. That day in the snow, and the white rabbit.

 _If you ruin my hair, Emily Fields, there will be consequences_

Such an innocent thought. She didn't know what was ahead of her- that was all she had been worried about that day. How nice her hair was looking.

 _Come on, I wanna show you something_

And there was the rabbit, its pearly white fur glistening in the snow, hopping around their feet.

 _Em?_

 _Yeah?_

 _Can I kiss you?_

And she'd kissed her. Only once, and it was never going to happen again. That had been Maya's last kiss...maybe even her first. On the last day of her life. She thought about her last words, how they really sucked as last words go.

 _Em what's happening? Who is that?_

'The person that will end your life' Emily felt like saying to her. But she couldn't say it. Not really, because she wasn't there. That memory was in the past, and there was no way she could go back.

 _Can I kiss you?_

 _Hey, who you looking at?_

 _My name's Maya_

 _I'll help you_

 _Can I kiss you?_

 _Can I kiss you?_

 _I'm Maya, can I kiss you?_

"STOP" Emily shouted, covering her ears with her hands and sitting bolt upright. And then she heard a ringing. It was a loud ringing, like a bell or a phone. She thought she was going mad, but it was only her computer. An image had come on the screen with 'Hanna Marin is requesting to call you" displayed on it. Breathing a sigh of relief, Emily answered the call.

"Han!" she beamed at the screen, seeing her friend say at her desk at home.

"Hey, Em, you alright?" Hanna asked, moving right close to the screen "You're all sweaty"  
Emily noticed that she was right, and wiped the sweat drops off her forehead.

"Yeah" she lied "Just been running with my mom"

"Oooh right" Hanna looked away from the screen "So how is old Pam anyways?" Emily laughed.

"She hates it when you call her Pam" she told her, sitting down on her desk chair. She wondered why owls were even necessary in this day and age when they had mobile phones and laptops anyway. Then again, technology didn't work at Hogwarts.

"She hates everything" Hanna complained "So, we got the date set for Maya's party?"  
Great. They were talking about Maya again.

"You make it sound like Maya's throwing it" Emily chuckled. Hanna joined in.

"You know what I mean" she finally said "Everyone's coming right?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the image 'SpxncerHxstxngs is requesting to join your call'

"Is that Spence?" Emily asked. Hanna clicked 'accept'.

"No, it's Sp-ex-ncer H-ex-st-ex-ngs" Hanna joked. Emily laughed, as the image of Spencer Hastings formed on their screen looking extremely stressed.

"Stop whatever you're doing and listen to me" she said, slicking back her hair and wiping her mouth.

"We weren't doing anything" Hanna argued, but Spencer held a finger up to say 'shut up'.

"I don't care" she snapped "So listen to this, guys. I bought the Avril CD's from this guy I found, and I was explaining to him about why we need them and we got talking about Maya and that-"

'PookieBear007 is requesting to join your call'

"The hell is that?" Hanna asked, staring at the name on the screen.

"Aria" Emily rolled her eyes, clicking Aria's icon on the screen.

"Hey guys!" Aria shouted at them as she joined the chat "What are you up to?"  
"Shut up Aria" Spencer snapped subconsciously "So anyway, we were talking about Maya and-"  
"Wait, was this guy a muggle or wizard?" Hanna interrupted, making Spencer look furious.

"Muggle" she said "So-"  
"Wait, how did you tell him Maya died?" Emily interruped, making Spencer look even more mad than she already looked.

"Does it matter?" she snapped "So, ANYWAY, I was explaining about Maya, and then HE said-"  
'HBIC_Ali is requesting to join your call'

"FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Spencer slammed her fists against the keyboard, as Hanna accepted the call request.

"Hey all" Ali greeted with a wave "What's this, a party?" Spencer clenched her fists.

"WILL YOU LOT LET ME FINISH THE DAMN STORY?" she demanded. Everyone nodded in fear.

"Thank you" Spencer breathed "So, I was explaining to him about Maya and how much she loved Avril Lavigne, and guess what?"  
"What?" all the girls said in unison, but extremely half heartedly.

"He said he knew a guy that was friends with Avril in person, and that she would be happy to perform live for us at Maya's party!"  
"Holy shit!"  
"No way!"

"Are you for real?"  
"Yeah I'm for real!" Spencer said excitedly "He called his friend while I was there and gave him my number, and he called me back just now to tell me Avril would be happy to perform, as long as she gets paid full price"

"What's her price?" Alison asked. Spencer gulped and turned her voice into a small whisper.

"£2000"  
Hanna spat out the juice she had been drinking, and Emily wondered when the hell she had gotten that.

"£2000?" Alison questioned "How much is that in wizard money?"  
"I'll check" Aria said, pulling out her phone and typing something in. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the number on the screen "415 galleons"  
Alison spat out her water, and Emily again wondered when she had acquired that.

"Where the hell are we gonna get that amount of money in under a week?" Alison asked. Everyone looked at Spencer.

"Don't look at me!" Spencer held her hands up in defence "I don't have that kind of money. At least, not on hand. Besides, all the money any of us have is wizarding money"

"We have to do it" Emily suddenly said "We have to. For Maya"  
Everyone bowed their heads in shame, and fiddled with their fingers. Emily was right.

"It's not possible, Em" Alison told her with much regret in her eyes.

"Anything's possible" Emily argued "Look, why don't we all get together and discuss this"

"How am I gonna convince my mum to allow me to leave the house?" Alison asked "She's only allowing me to go to Maya's party because I told her she was in Slytherin, and it was 'my duty to honour the family house'.

"We'll sneak you out somehow" Emily said firmly "We'll find a way. But we can't raise £2000 over video chat...we have to do it together in person"

"She's right" Aria added.

"We could meet at my house" Spencer suggested "My parents are out of town this week, and Melissa's away on work experience or something"

"Sounds good, Spence" Hanna said "I'll ask my mum if she can drive me to yours, let's say, tomorrow?"

The other 4 girls nodded.

"Yeah, I'll ask my dad too" Aria said.

"And I'll ask my mum" said Emily "And once we all get to yours Spence, we can go to Ali's and sneak her out her room. Her house is only a 15 minute walk from yours, isn't it?"

"Yeah" Alison confirmed "Alright then, sounds good"

"What if we can't think of anything?" Hanna asked, looking worried.

"We will" Emily said, a tone of certainty in her voice "We'll do it. For Maya"  
"For Maya" Aria agreed

"For Maya" Spencer echoed

"For Maya"

"For Maya.


	36. Banana Muffins

"Right" Spencer chewed on the edge of her quill. The 5 girls were gathered in Spencer's room the next day. Spencer at her desk, Aria on a beanbag, Alison on her bay window and Hanna and Emily laying top and tail on her bed.  
"What about a Lemonade stand?" Aria suggested

"No one does that in England Aria, it's not hot enough" Spencer pointed out. Aria huffed and kicked her foot against the edge of Spencer's bed.

"What about" Hanna stared up at the ceiling with her hands on her stomach "A sexy car wash?"

"I doubt people will want to pay to watch a bunch of 13 year olds wash volvos in bikinis" Emily laughed.

"Hey, I'm still 12!" Aria retorted.

"So am I!"Alison added

"Even worse" Spencer agreed "We could sing for money and stuff, like people do on the streets"  
"What, like homeless people?" Hanna asked, scoffing "Besides, I can't sing anyway"  
"Neither can I" Emily agreed, passing Hanna a small high five. Spencer rolled her eyes.

"We could sell stuff then maybe" she suggested.

"Like what?" Alison asked "None of us have enough stuff to sell, if you're thinking like a boot sale or something-"  
"Fat idea!" Aria suddenly sat up, her eyes widening.

"What is it?" Spencer asked eagerly, swivelling around on her spinney chair and tapping her quill against her face.

"My mum's boyfriend owns a bakery" she started explaining "I could ask him if we could borrow some of his spare supplies and we could do a bake sale!"

"Your mum has a boyfriend?" was the only thing Hanna seemed to gather from that sentence.

"Yeah, his name's Zach" Aria told her "He's a bit weird, but it's the only thing I can think of"  
"That sounds like a good idea, and I can't think of anything better" Spencer shrugged her shoulders.  
"Bake sale it is?" Alison asked. The other four girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"Great" Aria stood up "I'll go and get supplies now, and we can start baking"

Aria returned some time later with 5 boxes full of flour, 4 tins of cocoa powder, a crate load of eggs and various other ingredients that Zach has spare in the back of his bakery.

"All this stuff is like a day out of date" she explained "So he's not legally allowed to sell it, but there's no law saying we can't. Besides, who's even gonna taste the difference"

"Excellent!" Spencer exclaimed, rubbing her hands together "Right so, I can make some mean banana muffins, Hanna I'll put you in charge of cookie and cupcake duty, Aria you make us some leaflets and stick them around town, and Alison and Emily you get together and do us some brownies"  
"Hey, why are we the only ones in a pair?" Alison asked with a frown.

"Because I saw you attempt to make apple pie 3 Christmas's ago, and it would be an understatement to say you're a dangerously shit cook"

Alison mocked a sarcastic gasp.

"Is everyone good?" Spencer asked, tying an apron round her waist. Everyone nodded.

"Then let's go" 

"No, Ali, I said 2 cups of flour not 2 spoonfuls!" Emily said, irritably smacking her hand against her forehead.

"Well you could have said it more clearly!" Alison retorted, scooping a cup full of flour into the mixing bowl. Her face was covered in flour, and she had bits of cocoa powder sprinkled in her hair.

"We've made six whole batches of these already, did you really think the recipe would change during the third batch?" Emily argued "Here, let me do it"

She snatched the cup out of Alison's hand and poured the flour in the bowl herself, brushing her hands off as she finished.

"How many batches are we making?" Ali asked, carefully cracking an egg against the mixing bowl.

"Spencer said 10" Emily answered "There are 20 in a batch, so we'll be making 200 brownies altogether. Each brownie will sell for £1.50 muggle money, which is-"

"£300" Alison finished "That's nowhere near enough". Emily bowed her head, and started mixing the bowl of brownies.

"It's a start" she said, slowly mixing the chocolate mixture together "Hey, could you pass me another egg"  
"Sure" Alison said, throwing an egg at Emily. Emily tried catching the egg, but it cracked in her hand.

"Alison!" she gasped "Why the hell did you throw it?" Alison smirked and wiped a smudge of flour off of her face.

"You asked for an egg" she shrugged "Not my fault you couldn't catch it" Emily flicked the egg off her hands and into the bowl. She picked up another egg and threw it directly at Alison, smashing it against her shoulder.

"Oh you wanna go there?" Alison retaliated, picking up another egg and tossing it at Emily's chest. It wasn't long before more eggs had been thrown than there were in the mixtures themselves, and Emily went to reach for another egg and realized-

"Oh shit"

The egg boxes were empty, and most of them were smashed up on the floor and dripping all over Emily and Alison's aprons.

"Hey Em, could you pass me two eggs" Spencer suddenly said, without looking up from her recipe.

Emily glanced nervously at Alison, and Alison returned the glance with a mouthing of the word ' _Crap_ '

"Hey did you hear me I asked if you could pass me-what the fuck happened?" Spencer had turned around now to find Emily and Alison dripping with the remains of smashed up eggshells and yolks.

"We ran out" Alison stated. Spencer's face brewed a shade of red and she folded her arms.

"YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!" she roared "NOW WE'LL ONLY HAVE HALF THE AMOUNT OF STUFF WE NEED FOR A GARUNTEED £2000" Alison shifted closer towards Emily and bowed her head.

"Sorry" they both muttered at the same time. Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"It's fine" she said unexpectedly "We'll just have to raise our prices a little, I don't know. Give me the ones you've already done and we'll make something work" She walked away silently, untying her apron and taking the muffins out the fridge.

"We're fucked" Alison gulped. Emily nodded her head.

"Totally fucked" she agreed.

Spencer had set up a stall at the end of her road, and Aria had draped a banner over it reading 'Help us raise money for our friends memorial, the Maya St Germain fund'. Soon enough, customers were flowing in buying cookies, muffins, cupcakes and brownies.

"Things are looking good" Spencer whispered, frantically putting money notes into the money box.

"We might just make it, you know"  
"We bloody better" Hanna said "Especially after the whole _egg situation_ "

"It wasn't my fault!" Emily chuckled "Alison was the one that threw the egg in the first place"  
"I threw it for you to catch!" Alison argued "Besides, if you hadn't have-"  
"We don't have time for this" Spencer snapped, digging Alison in the ribs "Let's just agree that both of you fucked up majorly and now we have to work as hard as we can to raise enough money.

Emily and Alison rolled their eyes "Yes, mum" 

It was near the end of the day now, and the sun was starting to set. There was no one around in the streets, and it was becoming clear that the girls would not be getting any more customers today.

"So how much have we got?" Hanna asked eagerly.

"Hold on, I'm counting it" Spencer said, flicking through the wads of money. Her face fell as she counted the last note. "£1700"

Emily's heart sank. They hadn't raised enough money. She had failed Maya, yet again. It was all her fault. It seemed like she couldn't do anything right lately, so she sat down on the edge of the road and held her head in her hands.

"It's not your fault, Em" Alison came and sat down next to her, as if she had read her thoughts.

"I just wanted this for her" Emily sighed "You know? I feel like I owe it to her"

"Hey" Hanna suddenly said, nudging the Emily in the rib and pointing to something "We've got another customer"

She was pointing at a woman, who was accompanied by a small boy and two more children in a double buggie. The woman approached the stall and smiled at the girls.

"What would you like?" the woman said to the small boy, who looked to be about 4 years old.

"Muffin please" he said, pointing to one of Spencer's banana muffins.

"One banana muffin please" the woman said. Spencer tipped the muffin into a paper bag.

"£2.50 please" she said. The woman got a few coins out of her purse and dropped it in Spencers hand. To Spencer's surprise, she found that the woman had given her 2 Sickles and a knut.

"Oh, I'm so sorry" she fumbled around and took the money back out of Spencer's hand "Foreign money, here"

"You're a wizard" Spencer said. The woman froze and looked up at her with a small smile.  
"Yes, I am" she said "I take it you girls are too?" All five of them nodded at once. The woman looked up at the banner over the girls head, and sighed.

"Your the friends of that girl who was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah" Emily said, standing up from the side of the road "Maya". The woman shook her head.

"So sad" she said "As a worker for the ministry, I can assure you we are doing everything we can to catch that woman and bring your friend to justice.

"Thank you" Alison said, nodding her head. The woman read the banner again.

"So you're raising money for a memorial party for her?" she asked. Spencer nodded.

"Well actually, we're trying to raise the money to hire her favourite singer for the party" she explained.

"Oh really?" the woman asked "What singer?"  
"Avril Lavigne" the five girls said at once. The woman looked shocked.

"I love Avril Lavigne!" she said "Your friend had great taste in music. So, have you got all the money you need?"

The girls sadly shook their heads.

"We need £300 more" Aria explained. The woman bit her lip slightly.

"Tell you what" she said, pulling something out of her bag what looked to be a cheque book "I'll give you the rest of the money you need, if I can come and watch her sing"

Spencer took the cheque from her hand and gaped at it in awe.

"For real?" she asked, her face suddenly lighting up "You're really just gonna give us this money?"  
The woman smiled and nodded her head "Think of it as a little apology from the ministry"

The girls crowded round the cheque to make sure it was real. Alison examined it with a strange look on her face, as she had never seen a cheque before.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Emily breathed "I don't know what to say"  
"It's no problem, really" the woman smiled "I'll be happy to come and pay my respects to Maya. So, when and where is the memorial?"  
"This Saturday" Hanna said "Primrose beach"  
"I'll be there"  
"Can we go home yet?" the small boy said, taking a bite of his muffin.

"In a minute, James, I'm just talking to these girls" she replied.

"He's cute" Aria peered down at the boy "Are they all yours?" The woman shook her head.

"Goodness, no" she laughed "Only the girl. Say hello, Rose!"

The baby shook her tiny fists, causing all five girls to 'awwwww' simultaneously.

"These are my nephews, James and Albus" she explained "I'm babysitting them"

Albus shook his fist, and James buried his head in the woman's coat with embarrassment.

"Anyway, I better be off" she said "Put the kids to bed, and all that"  
"Thank you again for this" Spencer smiled, waving the cheque. The woman smiled.

"It's no problem, really. See you Saturday!"  
Once the woman had left, the girls gathered round Spencer to examine the cheque again.

"We've got all the money!" Hanna jumped excitedly "Avril Lavigne, here we come!"  
"We did it!" Emily started jumping too.

"All thanks to" Spencer read the name scribbled on the cheque they had been given ' _Hermione Granger_ '


	37. What's a Hogwarts?

**Disclaimer- I don't own any of the songs used in this chapter, or Avril Lavigne for that matter**

"This has to be the best memorial party I've ever been to" Hanna said, taking another swig of butterbeer. It was Saturday already, and over half the 2nd year Hogwarts students had shown up on Primrose beach. The sun was setting now, and Emily couldn't help but be reminded of Maya even more as it did. She had loved the sunset, almost as much as she'd loved Avril Lavigne.

"I agree, this is a pretty awesome party" said Spencer.

There was a large fire near the bottom of the beach, where people were cooking various different things over. Not too far off the stage where Avril Lavigne was currently performing, was a large wooden pole with gifts to Maya placed around it. There were teddies, flowers, pictures, notes, and various other possessions that people had left for her.  
"Maya would have loved it" Aria said, wrapping a jacket around her. Emily nodded her head.

"Great party you guys" a Ravenclaw boy said to the girls in passing.

"Oh look" Hanna pointed to two people approaching where they were standing "It's that lady that gave us the rest of the money for the memorial"

"Oh yeah" Spencer looked over at her as she was walking closer. She was dressed different than had she been when they met her, now in black jeans with brown boots and a white tee with a leather jacket. "Who's she with?"

Indeed, there was another young woman stood next to her with flaming red hair. When the two women were only a few metres away from the girls, Emily dropped her Butterbeer.

"Oh my gosh" she breathed "That's-that's Ginny Potter!"

Finally, Hermione Granger and Ginny Potter reached over to where the girls were standing, and Emily was still staring at her in shock.

"Great turn out" Hermione said "Hope you don't mind, I brought my friend Ginny-"  
"-Potter" Emily finished almost instantly "Y-you played for the Holyhead Harpies" Ginny smiled.

"That, I did" she said "Why, you know them?" Emily nodded her head so rapidly that she could have been mistaken for the Ginny Potter bobble head she had gotten for Christmas last year.

"I'm a massive fan" she said "C-can I have your autograph?" Alison rolled her eyes at Emily, who looked as though she was about to start drooling any second from now.

"Thank you again for the money you gave us, Mrs Granger" Spencer shook her hand.

"It's Weasley, actually" Hermione said "But I still use Granger on my cheques. Can't be bothered to change my signature really" This made everyone laugh.

"Weasley?" Emily quizzed, glancing back and forth from Hermione to Ginny.

"I'm married to her brother" Hermione explained "Biggest mistake of my life really"  
"She's joking" Ginny laughed, seeing the look of horror on some of the girls faces.

"You're married to Harry Potter!" Aria suddenly remembered, a look of triumph in her face.

"Yep" Ginny nodded "Biggest mistake of MY life" Everyone laughed again.

"You like Avril Lavigne?" Alison asked. Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and simultaneously said "Um, yeah!"  
"When Hermione told me that she knew some kids who had booked her privately, I couldn't resist the offer to come watch her play. She's brilliant, don't you think?" Everyone nodded.

"We tried to get Harry and Ron to come too" Hermione sighed "But they have some meeting with Draco Malfoy"  
"I'm still convinced Harry's in love with him" Ginny added "Honestly, he doesn't stop going on about that man. You'd think _he_ was the one he was married to"

"Draco Malfoy?" Spencer said "Wasn't he a death eater?" Hanna nudged her in the ribs, her face reading a look of 'Shut the fuck up'

"He was momentarily" Hermione said "Long story, really. But he's an alright guy now"

"I am so sorry about your friend" Ginny said very suddenly, changing the subject "We brought her a little teddy. Mind if we go put it under the pole?"  
"Not at all"  
And Hermione and Ginny walked off, cracking open bottles of butter bear and putting a teddy under Maya's memorial pole.

"That" Emily breathed "Was awesome. She's even more awesome than I thought she would be"  
"Ooooo, is someone in love?" Alison teased, making sure the rest of the girls had walked away. Emily punched her in the arm and rolled her eyes.

"Shut up" she hissed "And no, that's stupid. She's just my idol" Alison sarcastically nodded her head.

"Come on" she held her hand out for Emily to grab "You like this song. Let's dance"

"How do you know I like this song?" Emily asked, reluctantly grabbing hold of Alison's hand.

"Everyone likes this song" Alison told her. Emily couldn't argue, as the two headed to the dance floor and broke into the first chorus of ' _Sk8er Boi_ '

Halfway through the night, Avril stopped playing the music and everyone was building a small chinese lantern and sticking a note to the side of it. Emily tapped the pen against her face, and stared down at the paper.

"Stuck?" Alison offered. Emily nodded her head.

"There are so many things I want to say to her" she admitted "I don't know how many of them I'd be able to fit on this tiny piece of paper". Alison stuck her own note to the side of her lantern.

"Tell her the thing you loved most about her" she suggested. Emily shook her head.

"Maya wouldn't want me to that" she said "She'd tell me off for being too cheesy. What did you put on yours?" Alison cleared her throat and brought her fist up to her chin.

"'Maya, I loved your clothing style more than I love my own mother'" Emily laughed.

"See!" she retorted "That's something Maya would have liked to hear"

"Well write down a memory you had with her" Alison said "Something special" Emily knew exactly what she was referring to, and blushed.

"I've got it" she suddenly said, clicking the pen and scribbling something on her paper.

"Good girl" Alison mocked. Emily smiled, and let the lantern go, a drawing of a small white rabbit stuck to the side of it, peacefully hopping through the snow.

"Just try a bit" Hanna offered her. Emily shook her head and turned her nose up.

"Han, it's bad enough we all drink Butterbeer, let alone Firewhiskey!" she retaliated.

"Oh come on, just a little bit" Hanna offered again, and Emily was tempted to slap it out her hand.

"This is peer pressure" she stated "What would McGonagall say to this?" Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Ol' Minnie probably has a few secrets herself" she argued "It's good stuff, really"  
"I'm under-aged" Emily mockingly turned her head away. Hanna shrugged.

"So am I" she said "Come on, for Maya"

"You can't just stick 'for Maya' on the end of a request and expect me to do it" Emily chuckled.

"Says who" Hanna asked, staring Emily longingly in the eyes "Oh come ooon, loosen up a bit"  
Emily bit her lip, and glanced back and forth from the bottle of firewhiskey in Hanna's hand.

"Where did you even get that from?" she quizzed.

"My mums cabinet" she explained. Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Muggles drink Firewhiskey?" she asked

"Muggles who are friends with wizards, drink Firewhiskey" Hanna answered. Emily stared at the bottle of Firewhiskey once again, and knew that if Maya were here she would have downed the whole thing by now.

"Fine" she spat "But only a sip, no more. And no telling my mother" Hanna dramatically threw her hands in the air and handed her the bottle.

"That's the spirit!" she cried "Gosh, we should have our friends die more often" Emily shot a poisonous look, but Hanna only laughed "It was only a joke, trust me" she said "I don't wanna lose anyone else, not for a long time"

-  
"It's been a pleasure playing for you guys tonight" Avril shouted into the microphone, followed by loud cheering "But we can't forget why we are gathered here tonight. Maya St Germain, this one's for you"

Emily knew what song it was before it even started playing. It had been Maya's favourite song, after all.

' _Uh huh, life's like this_ '

Alison, reading Emily's mind, went and stood next to her.

"She'd be proud of you, you know" she told her, clinking her own butterbeer with hers. "She'd be proud of all of us" Emily looked up at Alison, the light of the fire reflecting in her dark eyes.

"For what, breaking all the eggs?" she joked. Alison laughed, and nudged her in the ribs.

' _Chill out, what you yelling for_

 _Lay back, it's all been done before_

"Even for breaking the eggs" she said "She'd be proud of you for moving on with your life- for being happy. And she'd be proud of you for all this" Emily smiled.

' _And if you could only let it be, then you will see_ '

"She's really gone, isn't she?" she said, taking a large slurp of her butterbeer. Alison sadly nodded.

"It's only just hit me fully" Emily continued "You know, hearing this song. Maya used to play it on a loop every time we hung out. It's like this is the final goodbye"

' _I like, you the way you are_

 _When we're, drivin' in your car_ '

"Well then what are we doing here?" Alison grabbed Emily's wrist abruptly, causing her to drop her bottle "Maya wouldn't want us to be standing around crying, would she?" Emily stared at the broken glass on the floor and contemplated picking it up.

"No" she said in a small voice "If Maya were here, she'd say something like ' _What the hell are you two turtle-necks doing standing still? This is the greatest song ever written_!'" Alison put her butterbeer down and started dragging Emily dramatically toward the middle of the floor.

' _And you're talking to me one on one, but you become-_ '

Emily reluctantly followed her and stood in the middle of the floor. Alison knew the lyrics, of course. She started singing them at full volume and urged Emily to join in.

' _Somebody else, 'round everyone else_

 _You're watching your back, like you can't relax_

 _You're tryin' to be cool, you look like a fool to me._

 _Tell me-_ '

"For Maya" Emily shouted over the music. Alison slipped her hand down from Emily's arm to her hand.

"For Maya" she agreed.

' _Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?_

 _I see the way you're actin' like you're somebody else gets me frustrated_

 _Life's like this, you_

 _And you fall, and you crawl, and you break, and you take what you get and you turn it into_

 _honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it_

 _Nooo, noo, noo_ '

Emily laughed as she watched Alison sing the lyrics full blast. She had to admit, this song had grown on her since it was the only thing Maya ever listened to. Maya would have loved this day, and that's why she owed it to her to love it too. Alison grabbed Emily's wrist and forced her to dance until the end of the song, where everyone gave a huge cheer and Avril took a bow.

"Thank you guys so much! I have been Avril Lavigne, go check out my new album, and goodnight to you all!" Avril hopped off the stage and picked up her belongings.

"Hey, Avril, thanks so much for performing tonight" Spencer and the girls had gathered around the pop star now, handing her the £2000.  
"It was a pleasure" she smiled "Hey, I hope all you girls are okay. I know how hard losing someone close to you can be" she took the money lightly out of Spencer's hand, and noticed the butterbeer bottle in her other.

"Hey, what's that stuff all you guys been drinking all night?" she asked, pointing at it. Crap. They forgot Butterbeer didn't exist in the muggle world.

"Oh-uh-" Spencer, for the first time in her life, didn't know what to say.

"New brand of cream soda" Alison quickly interjected "Butter flavoured" Avril's head tilted.

"Mind if I have a sip?" she asked Spencer. Spencer offered her the bottle, and she took a gulp.

"Wow, nice stuff!" she exclaimed, examing the bottle before handing it back to Spencer "Hey tell you what, I'll knock £100 of the price if you send me a crate-load of this stuff" The girls nervously looked around at each other, as Avril handed Spencer back 5 £20 notes.

"S-sure" Hanna eventually managed to say.

"Awesome! Here, I'll write down my address and you can either send it through the post or drop it at my house or something" she took out a piece of paper from her pocket, scribbled something down, and handed it to Emily.

"Sounds cool" she said. Avril nodded her head.

"Well, it's been a pleasure playing for you, and I wish you all the best" she gave all the girls a high five and started walking off. As she neared the grass at the edge of the beach, she suddenly turned around.

"Oh, guys?" she called back, the five girls simultaneously whipping their heads round. "What's a 'Hogwarts'?"

 **Songs-** ** _Sk8er Boi_** **by Avril Lavigne**

 ** _Complicated_** **by Avril Lavigne**


	38. Exam Season

The girls were back at school the next week, meaning exam season had officially started. The weather had warmed up a little, and the Hogwarts students spent most of their free time in the courtyard studying and reading, some of them now listening to Avril Lavigne albums.

"What are you guys gonna pick as your additional subject options?" Spencer asked passingly, not looking up from the current piece of paper she was scribbling on.

"I don't know" Hanna scoffed back "Who knows that?"  
"Care of Magical creatures and Divination" Emily replied, also not looking up from her book.

"She knows that" Hanna said, sitting back down "What the hell even is Divination anyway?"  
"I think it's like studying the stars and making predications" Alison told her, flicking her pen lid back and forth.

"Ooooh like horoscopes?" Hanna asked, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. Alison and Spencer both raised an eyebrow.  
"Horror-what now?" Alison said, staring questioningly at Hanna.

"You know" Hanna said "When people's lives are predicated by whatever zodiac sign they are. It's all to do with the stars and moon and stuff like that"  
"That sounds like absolute bull" Spencer laughed, snapping her paper book shut and opening another "Anyway, I decided I'm taking Arithmancy and Muggle St-"

"That sounds cool" Alison interrupted "How would you know what zodiac sign you are though?"

"It's based on when you were born" Hanna started explaining "Like, I was born on March 7th, so I'm a Pisces"  
"Oh please" Spencer rolled her eyes "It sounds like Muggle Divination, meaning it's probably not even slightly accurate-"  
"Is too!" Hanna argued "Your zodiac sign can tell you who you're most compatible with and stuff like that. And who you should stay away from, and what your future's going to be like"  
"What's my zodiac sign?" Alison asked, dropping the book she was reading and giving Hanna her full attention. Spencer rolled her eyes again, and pushed her glasses back up onto her nose.

"Let's see" Hanna started thinking "You were born in early June, meaning you're probably a Gemini"  
Aria shifted a laugh, and Alison instantly shot her a death glare.

"What's so funny?" she asked, shutting down Aria's expressions.

"Nothing" Emily joined the conversation "I-it's just that, no one really likes Geminis. They get a bad rep" Alison's mouth dropped open.

"Well that's stupid, people do like me!" Alison insisted.

"Do they though?" Emily joked, causing Alison to nudge her in the ribs.

"What zodiac signs are the rest of you then?" she huffed, folding her arms and leaning back onto the tree.

"Well I'm a Scorpio" Emily told her "And Aria's birthday is end of July, so she's most likely a Cancer. And Spencer's in mid April so she's an Aries-"  
"Figures" Hanna muttered under her breath.

"What did you just say?" Spencer shot a daring look at her.

"Nothing" Hanna said quickly, smirking into her robes.

"So how do you know who you're most compatiable with?" Alison asked, unintentionally glancing at Emily.

"I have a book on it here" Hanna suddenly dug into her bag and pulled out a seemingly thick book.

"How do you just have that on you?" Spencer quizzed. Hanna shrugged, opening a middle page.

"Here it is" she pointed at some sort of chart, and the rest of the girls gathered round the book.

"And how did you open that on the exact page?" Spencer continued. Hanna didn't reply this time.

"So, it says here that Gemini's are most compatible with Libra and Aquarius" Hanna started reading.

"No one interesting then" Alison scoffed, leaving the other girls wondering what on earth she had hoped it would say.

"I'm most compatible with Virgo and Sagittarius" Hanna continued reading "Hey, Sean's a Sagittarius!"

"Wonderful" Spencer told her. It was no secret that Spencer thought less of Sean than she did of the shit at the bottom of her shoe.

"And Emily's a Scorpio, soooo, she's most compatible with Aries and Gemini"  
"Maya was an Aries" Emily muttered under her breath, and only Alison heard.

' _And I'm a Gemini'_ she couldn't help but think ' _But who cares? It's not like I'm getting together with Em anytime soon'_

Their thoughts and conversations with the loud voice of the Headmistress ringing over some sort of speaker phone. 'PLEASE CAN ALL 2ND YEARS TAKING THE DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS END OF YEAR EXAM PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO PROFESSOR THOMAS' CLASSROOM'

"Shit, I forgot to study" Hanna smacked her hand on her forehead.

"It's fine you can copy from me" Spencer told her, putting her belongings in her bag and standing.

"But the quills are enchanted with Anti-Cheat charms!" Aria reminded her. Spencer tapped her nose.

"Are you honestly doubting that I can get through that?" she scoffed "Please"  
No one doubted her anymore.

"That was the worse exam I've ever sat" Spencer complained, walking out of the test with Emily.

"I didn't think it was that bad" Emily argued.

"That's because you're a DADA genius" said Spencer. Emily shook her head.

"Am not" she said. Spencer raised her eyebrows unconvincingly and nodded her head.

"Um, yeah you are" she told her "You were the one that held off Bellatrix Lestrange's killing curse. Not many people can do that, and live to tell the tale anyway"  
"But I couldn't save Maya" Emily murmured. Spencer draped an arm over her shoulder.

"So it's true?"

The voice came from behind them, and both girls knew exactly who it was before they even turned around.

"What's true?" Spencer asked Noel Kahn. He gritted his teeth and walked towards them.

"That you were there" he spat "That you were t-there the day s-she..that day that Maya died"

Emily and Spencer looked each other in confusion, and then back at Noel.

"Yeah, I was there" Emily admitted "I thought everyone knew tha-"  
"And you could've saved her?" he asked, bearing his pearly white teeth and rubbing them against each other.

"Shut up, Noel" Spencer warned, protectively standing in front of Emily and holding out her arms.

"No, you shut up Spencer!" he roared "SHE WAS THERE, AND SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO SAVE HER" Emily felt like disappearing on the spot, and she subconsciously stated backing away.

"She couldn't have done anything!" Spencer argued "Bellatrix hit her with the killing curse, there's nothing that could have been done!"  
"SHE COULD HAVE DIVED IN FRONT OF HER!" Noel was shouting now "SHE COULD HAVE DIED, I'D RATHER SHE HAVE DIED!" a tear silently rolled down Emily's face.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?" Spencer started shouting "WHEN SOMEONE DECIDES THEY WANT TO KILL SOMEONE WITH THAT CURSE, THERE IS NOT A BLOODY LOT THAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT.,EMILY DIDN'T WANT MAYA TO DIE!"  
"Spence, it's okay" Emily whispered into Spencer's hair. Spencer whipped her head around to look at Emily.

"It's not okay" she said "WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE SO MUCH ABOUT MAYA? YOU HATE EVERYONE"

Noel tried to say something, but his words failed him, so he just stared darkly at the ground.

"Because you were in love with her" Emily whispered. Noel looked up, not saying a word.

"What, and you weren't?" he spat, moving closer towards her "Oh come on, it's no secret that you play for the other team sweet little Emily Fields-"  
"You better shut your mouth, Noel" Spencer poked a finger at his chest "Emily's not gay, and even if she was, you don't have any right to be going round-"  
"Oh really?" Noel interrupted, his face swarming into a form of psychotic darkness "Have you asked her that yourself? In fact, why don't we just skip asking her and ask your dear little friend Alison"

"You shut up about her" Emily's lip curled and she took a step closer towards Noel, Spencer attempting to stop her.

"Or what?" he sneered "Is she gonna set Bellatrix on me? It's no secret that that girl has some sort of dark mental issues, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were rubbing off on you"  
"STOP TALKING, NOEL, OR I SWEAR I'LL-"  
"You'll what?" he stopped her "Punch me in the face again? Pissed off that I'm talking the truth about your little girlf-"  
" _FLIPENDO_!"

Noel suddenly went flying up into the air, and was knocked back a few metres away. Spencer watched him in shock, as Emily's face burned bright red. Noel angrily shoved his hand into his robes and pulled out his wand.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " Noel hissed. Emily stumbled back slightly, realising that Noel had meant to disarm her. Either way, it hadn't worked as she still had her wand and was up on her feet.

"Nice one, Noel" Spencer mocked "A* in Defence Against the Dark Arts"  
"T-two against one isn't f-fair" he tried to defend himself.

"It is when only one of them's duelling" Emily smirked. Noel tried to get back on his feet.

"Whatever, dyke" he mumbled, attempting to walk away.  
"What did you just say?" Emily called to him. Noel turned around.

"You heard me" he said "And you're not denying it either, you little dy-"  
" _Silencio_!"

A spark of blue light shot out of Emily's wand, and Noel fell back onto his behind. He smirked a little, and tried to say something- but the words wouldn't come out.

Noel grabbed his tongue in confusion, and tried to say something else, but no sound was coming out of his mouth. Emily glanced at Spencer, who was laughing hysterically.

"Where on earth did you learn that one?" she asked her. Emily stared at Noel in disbelief.

"I saw it once on the back of a book you were reading!" she admitted "I-I didn't know what it would do..."  
"The incantation was 'Silencio' what did you think it would do?" Spencer was still laughing.

"I thought it might trip him over or something, I-"

Noel stood up angrily and stomped his feet. He flipped a finger at Emily, and ran down the corridor still clutching his tongue.

"He'll be able to talk again soon, right?" Emily asked Spencer, who had finally stopped laughing.

"Sure he will" she said "Emily Fields, you truly are a legend"


	39. Probably Latin

**Note: Anyone that hasn't read/seen Harry Potter probably won't get this chapter, in which case google the reference x**

Emily stared up at her ceiling the night of her final exams. The Gryffindor dorm was cold this particular night, but she didn't mind. The covers of her bed were pushed down to her feet and she was wearing her over sized Gryffindor tee and black shorts. She couldn't sleep, and decided the best thing to do was just lay there in silence. She thought about what had happened earlier today with Noel, and laughed at the memory of him not being able to talk. What was really shocking about that whole event was finding out that he had been in love with Maya. She didn't know how she felt about that. Was she jealous? No, obviously not. Why would she be jealous of some stuck up Slytherin boy being in love with a dead girl.

She told herself off for calling Maya a dead girl.

It wasn't like she herself had been in love with Maya, anyways. Sure, she'd kissed her once and only and that was it...but she couldn't deny that she wanted to do it so many more times. But she shouldn't be thinking about this now, for Maya had been dead for over 2 months now. Emily promised herself that this would be the last thing she thought about her dead friend.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a dull pain in her stomach and a loud rumble, and Emily realized that she was hungry. Desperately, she reached down to the box of food she had stored under her bed, but found that she had eaten her last chocolate frog.

"Crap" she muttered, throwing her head back up at the ceiling and trying to ignore the pain her stomach was in. After much thought and internal conflict, Emily quietly stepped out of bed and threw her hoodie on, planning on going down to the Hogwarts kitchens. She had been there once before with Alison, and was almost certain she remembered where it was. It wasn't too far off the Hufflepuff common room, she remembered, and all she had to do was tickle the pear in the painting. Careful not to wake Alison, she lit a candle and headed out the common room.

The halls of Hogwarts were eerie and cold this time of night. Emily pulled her hood over her head and tied the strings together. The corridors felt very empty this time of night, with only the paintings on the wall around.

"Turn that bloody light out!" One of them hissed.

"Sorry" Emily muttered back, trying to walk as fast as she could as to not disturb the paintings. She just hoped there weren't any teachers or Prefects roaming around this time of night. But she didn't have to run much longer, as she soon spotted the painting with the pear on it.

"Bingo" she whispered, carefully tiptoeing over to the painting. But suddenly, to her horror, she felt something small and wirey brushing up against her leg. Confirming her fears, she looked down to her feet and found a cat brushing up against her bare legs. Mrs Norris lew out a large 'meow' and circled Emily's ankles.

"Who's there, my pretty?" the all too familiar voice of Argus Filch rang down from a nearby corridor. Emily's eyes widened, and she quickly dropped the candle without thinking.

"Student!" she heard Filch shout "Student out of bed?"  
Panicking, Emily sprinted down the corridor she was in and turned down a random corridor. She kept running, not knowing where on earth this corridor led, and not caring either. The cries of the school's much hated caretaker were getting closer and louder every second that passed. There was nothing in the corridor that she could see, other than a small hole in the corner of what looked to be a dead end. Turning her head and noticing that Filch now had a light, she reluctantly bent down and crawled through the hole.

"Where are you?" Filch shrieked "I know you're around here somewhere. You won't be able to hide for long!"  
Emily caught her breath, and lent her back up against the wall. Opening her eyes and looking around, she realized that she was in some sort of room. There were no doors to this room, only the hole that she had crawled through to get there, as if it had been purposely blocked off. There was one window at the far end of the room, allowing the moonlight to pass through. The only thing in the room was a large mirror, stood leaning against the wall in the centre.

Emily (not wanting to make too much noise, as Filch was still patrolling the outside of the room) crawled over to the front of the mirror, and peered up at it.

It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and she wondered why they had put it in a barred off room. Surely there was nothing dangerous about it? Looking more carefully at the mirror, she noticed that it said something at the top. It looked like it was in a different language or something, because she couldn't read it. The frame read ' _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'_ , whatever that meant.

Emily crawled closer to it, closely examining the frame and tracing the patterns with her fingers. It looked like just a stupid foregin mirror, but deep down she knew that that probably wasn't the case, being as this was Hogwarts. Emily turned around and looked up at the moon, it's light illuminating the castle and everything around it. It was beautiful, she thought, and this room had the perfect amount of moonlight in it. She found herself again wondering why it had been blocked off. Emily yawned and stretched her arms, and turned back around to face the mirror- her breath hitching as she did. She was not only staring at herself anymore...there was someone else reflected in the mirror.

"Maya?" she breathed, curiously glancing next to her. But Maya was not next to her, and only appeared to be so in the mirror.

The reflection in the mirror was unmistakably Maya, dressed in her black skinny jeans and Doc Martens with grey band t shirt and dark green bomber jacket. Maya smiled, and nodded her head.

"How is this possible?" Emily asked, reaching out a finger and touching the mirrors glass, seeing if somehow Maya would grab her hand and come flying through.

Mirror Maya just smiled, and draped her arm over Emily's shoulder. Emily touched her shoulder, but there was still nothing there and she couldn't feel a thing. Maya's head rested on her shoulder.

"I-I miss you" Emily whispered, feeling her eyes well up with tears at the sight of Maya. She thought she would never see her again, yet here she was. But she was only a reflection, not real. Still, this was more than Emily ever hoped would happen.

"I'm so sorry" she felt a tear roll down her face "I-I failed you. I'm so sorry. I should've stopped her s-sooner, I should have protected you, I-" Mirror Maya interrupted her by shaking her head. And although this was not alot, it was enough. Enough for Emily to understand that Maya forgave her.

And that's when Emily poured her heart out to her. It was stupid, really. She knew Maya wasn't really there but somehow inside the mirror. But it helped alot

"I'll be back" Emily suddenly said, crawling away from the mirror and slowly started seeing Maya's reflection fade away "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back"

Slowly and carefully, she poked her head out of the hole in the wall and scanned the corridors for Filch. With a chuckle, she spotted the caretaker and his cat lent up against a wall, both snoring loudly with their mouths hanging open. Without looking back, Emily quickly stood up and ran as fast as she could back to the Gryffindor common room.

"AliAliAliAliAliAliAliAliAli-"  
"Hmphhh whaaat" Alison rubbed her eyes miserably and attempted to shift one open.

"Get up right now!"Emily pulled Alison's covers off her bed and shook her shoulders "Get up, I have to show you something"  
"Arrggghhh, fuck off Fields it's freezing" Alison tried to pull her covers back over her, but Emily slapped her hand.

"This is important you gotta see something, get up!" She grabbed her friends wrist, and yanked her out of bed, causing her to fall on the floor.

"Ow, I'm up I'm up!" Alison rubbed her eyes and slowly stood up, reaching for a hoodie "This better be good, whatever it is. I was having this really hot dream about Paul Walker and-"  
"This is much better than Paul Walker" Emily assured her grabbing a hold of Alison's wrist again and pulling her downstairs through the common room.

"I doubt that many things are better than Paul Walker" Alison huffed, pulling the hood of her hoodie over her head.

"Well this is" Emily argued, now yanking Alison through the Hogwarts corridors, careful not to wake the sleeping paintings on the wall "Not shut up before you wake someone up. I don't want Filch on our tail"  
"Then. Let's. Wait. 'Til. Fucking. Morning" Alison hissed "Seriously, is there a reason that this has to be done in pitch darkness and sub zero temperatures?"

"This couldn't wait" Emily told her simply. Alison let out a huge sigh, and loosely attempted to pull her wrist free from Emily's grasp.

"Why were you even up at 2am in the first place?" she wondered.

"Because I was" Emily replied simply, tightening her grip on Alison's wrist. Alison rolled her eyes and repeated what Emily said, mimicking her voice. Emily didn't let go of her wrist all through the corridors, but finally let go when they reached what looked to Alison like a brick wall.

"There's nothing here" Alison moaned, folding her arms impatiently. Emily bent down to the corner of the wall.

"There's a hole, look" she said, pointing at it. Alison too bent down, and found the hole Emily had been talking about.

"You dragged me out of bed at 2 in the morning to see a hole?" she asked. Emily rolled her eyes.

"No, idiot, it's what's behind the hole" she explained "Follow me" She started crawling through the hole, Alison reluctantly following her.

"Soooo you dragged me out of bed at 2 in the morning to see an empty room?" she said, reaching the other side of the wall and entering the moonlit room.

"If you just shut up for a second" Emily hissed "Then you might take the time to look around the room long enough to notice that" she pointed at the mirror. Alison curiously crawled towards it and tilted her head. She stood up on her tiptoes, and attempted to read the writing on the mirror.

"It's just a big old mirror with foreign writing on it, so what?" she said, brushing the dust from the floor off of her. Emily stood up next to her, and pointed at the mirror.

"There" she said with a proud look on her face. Alison looked at her and squinted.

"There what?" she said.

"There, right there, look!" Emily pointed at the mirror again, and Alison looked straight at it, and then back at Emily.

"There's nothing there" she said "It's just a mirror, what did you think would pop out of it?"  
"Don't you see her?" Emily asked impatiently "Look!"  
"See who?" Alison questioned, beginning to think Emily was fully losing the plot.

"Maya!" Emily burst. Alison laughed a little.

"Maya's dead" she said "I doubt she'll be turning up in the mirror anytime soon" Emily tilted her head.

"She's right there, don't you see her?" she whispered "Look, she's smiling. Why can't you see her?"  
"Because she's not there!" Alison turned and shook Emily's shoulders "It's just us! Em, Maya's been dead for over two months now you gotta stop all this-"  
"I'm not crazy!" Emily flew her arms up in the air dramatically "Look, I'll stand aside and then you might see her" she walked away from the mirror and stood at the edge of the room. Alison's expression suddenly turned from very unconvinced, to very confused.

"What the hell?" she said, scanning every inch of the mirror with a strange look on her face.

"What, do you finally see her?" Emily asked hopefully. Alison shook her head.

"N-no, that's not it" she said, looking over at Emily.

"Then what is it?" Emily asked eagerly. Alison took a step closer towards the mirror and traced her fingers along it.

"Y-you're still here" she said finally. "I-in the mirror. Your reflections still showing, even though you're over there" Emily scrunched her eyerbows.

"W-what?" she asked, confused "That's impossible, I'm standing nowhere near the mirror!"  
"You think I'm lying?" Alison said "I know what you look like, Em, and that's you! Right there!"  
"Are you sure?" Emily said "M-maybe it's a glitch or something"

"A glitch?" Alison scoffed "In a magic mirror?" Emily clicked her tongue, realising she was right.

"What am I doing?" she asked "I-I mean, what's it doing?" Alison stepped back a little.

"You're just smiling" she told her "And you've got your hands in the pocket of your-wait"  
"What is it?" Emily questioned, noticing Alison's face now looked even more skeptical than it had before. Alison turned her head and studied Emily's torso up and down, and then looked down at her own torso.

"You're wearing my hoodie" Alison laughed.

"What?" Emily laughed a little too, as Alison kept glancing back and forth from the mirror to Emily.

"Yeah" she said "A-and I'm wearing yours. Bloody mirror's glitching like crazy I guess"

"A magic mirror?" Emily said, repeating what Alison had said earlier against her.

"Well I don't know do I!" Alison argued "What does that writing at the top say anyway?" Emily came and stood back next to Alison, looking up at the top of the mirror.

 _"'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'_ , whatever the hell that means" she said.

"Probably Latin" Alison shrugged.

"Yeah" Emily agreed "Probably Latin"


	40. Gryffindor vs Slytherin

It was the final Quidditch match of the season, and Gryffindor were head to head with none other than Slytherin themselves. Ezra had had the team working non stop day and night during the week leading up to the match, as apparently Slytherin were better than they had ever been before.

"I'm sure you all know" Ezra began saying "That we need to be at least 210 points ahead of Slytherin to win the cup, and those of you who went to a muggle primary school and took math, will know that we need to be at least 60 points ahead of Slytherin before Emily can even think about catching the snitch"

"60 points, got it" Holden Strauss mumbled, clearly trying to involve himself.

"And just know" Ezra continued "That I want you all to try your hardest, and it doesn't matter if we don't win. However, if we DON'T win, then I am going to personally inflict the bat bogey hex on every single one of you" Emily knew he was joking, but there was more sincerity in his voice than there usually was.

"This is your last ever match, ain't it boss?" Lyndon James piped up.

"Yes, thanks for the reminder James" Ezra hissed "However, I am hoping to get a job teaching little kids to fly. But that isn't the point right now-the only thing that matters is this game right here"

"Have they got the same seeker as last year?" Emily asked, remembering the match that they had played against Slytherin last year where their seeker poked Emily roughly with her broom, almost cracking her ribs. Much to her surprise, however, Ezra shook his head.

"No" he said "Their seeker got injured at the last minute, so I heard. They had last minute trials specially for this match, and the kid that got it was the team captain's little brother. Biased, most probably, but that doesn't really matter much"  
"Who's the team captain?" Toby wondered, polishing the handle of his broom.

"No one special" Ezra shrugged "Think his name's Eric, or something like that. Eric Kahn"

Emily almost choked on her own saliva.

"Kahn?" she spat. Ezra nodded.

"That's right, yeah" he said "His brother's in your year, I think. You know him?"  
"Yeah, I know him" Emily mumbled, not wanting to say anything further. If the Slytherin's seeker really _was_ that of Noel Kahn, then she had all the more reason to win this match.

"Game starts in 5 minutes" Madame Hooch poked her head in the tent "Slytherin's already out there waiting, so, it wouldn't kill you to head on down there a bit earlier" Ezra rolled his eyes.

"Of course they are" he muttered "Right, we best be off then. Good luck to all of you"

Emily gulped. For the first time, she thought she would need all the luck she could get.

"Now, I want a nice clean game" Madame Hooch ordered, as she did every single match. Emily wondered if there would ever be a time where she _didn't_ want a nice clean game.

"We got this, Fields" Toby whispered to hear. Emily winked.

"Mount your brooms!" Madame Hooch ordered. "On my whistle... _GO_! _  
_

The quaffle instantly landed in Jasmine Saunders hand, and she zoomed past the Slytherin players tightly tucking it under her arm.

"Saunders possesses the quaffle" Libby Jordan's familiar voice rang out through the speakers of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. "She heads for the hoops, Michael Zachary of Slytherin closing in behind her. Damn, I wouldn't mind that boy closing in on _m_ -"

"Get on with the game, Jordan" McGonagall hissed. Libby Jordan smirked, and flattened her hair down.

"Michael Zachary now in possession of the quaffle, he heads for the Gryffindor rings, he passes to Eric Kahn, he shoots! Aaah, crap"  
Slytherin had scored, and their whole team was cheering like crazy. From the stands, Emily could see the people in the Slytherin house waving flags and banners, and she could have sworn she saw one that said 'RIP MAYA ST GERMAIN'. Were Slytherin seriously going to make the Gryffindor team feel bad for trying hard just because a Slytherin kid was dead?

"Lyndon James now possesses the quaffle, and is zooming towards the other end of the pitch. Oh, hey, watch out for that bludger!"

Toby was quicker, and whacked the incoming bludger out the way and towards a girl from Slytherin.

"Nice defense from Toby Cavenaugh! I've been meaning to ask him actually, are you seeing anyone Tob-" She was interrupted by a death glare from Professor McGonagall, and instantly stopped talking.

From the Ravenclaw stand, she spotted Spencer and Aria holding a large banner that said 'WE'RE SUPPORTING GRYFFINDOR', and it seemed like all the rest of their house were supporting Gryffindor too. She tried to search for Hanna over in the Hufflepuff stand, but she was too busy getting her face sucked off by Sean Ackard. There was something about that boy that just wasn't right, but Emily decided not to ever say anything about it as Hanna was one of her best friends.

And then there was Alison in the Gryffindor stand. She could only just make her out, as everyone looked so small when she was so high in the air. She was in between Danielle Leighton and Amber Victorino, nattering about something or other. Emily half hoped that Alison would notice her looking at her, as she could do with some sort of encouragement from her friend.

"Ezra Fitz nicely bats a bludger away from Jasmine Saunders, Saunderss intercepts the quaffle from Kahn, she heads for the posts- YESSS YESSS! SHE SCORES!"

"It was 60:20 to Gryffindor, and Emily had been hovering in the air for just over half an hour now. Noel Kahn had supposedly spotted the snitch a few times, but Emily knew that he was only trying trying to trick her into catching it early on in the game, as he knew that Gryffindor would lose anyway if they weren't 60 points up.

"He's a sly little bastard, ain't he?" Toby Cavenaugh said to her, after having just batted a bludger out of her face and into Noel Kahn's direction. Emily laughed as Noel attempted to dodge the bludger, and ended up hanging off the edge of his broom.

"You have no idea" Emily sighed.

"So, Em, I've been meaning to talk to you about something, and I-"  
"Is this really the time?" Emily shouted over the raging wind that was now attacking both of them.

"N-no I suppose not" Toby bowed his head, casually dodging a bludger "It's about one of your friends, see, I just-"  
"Toby, look out!"  
But he wasn't quick enough. Chris Bazini had whacked a bludger straight in Toby's direction, and it hit him full pelt in the arm. Clutching his injured arm, Toby fell off of his broom and went plummeting towards the ground.

"Cavenaugh is knocked off his broom by Chris Bazini? Er, what's gonna happen now, Professor?" Libby Jordan said. Madame Hooch blew her whistle and all the players on the pitch immediately came to a halt. Madame Pomfrey came running on the pitch where Toby was now lying and screaming in pain, and lent down next to him.

"This boy needs to be taken to the hospital wing!" she shouted up at Madame Hooch. Madame Hooch nodded her head, and clicked her fingers in the direction of two very bulky looking men. The men ran on to the pitch beside Toby, one grabbing his ankles and one his wrists.

"What are we gonna do with only one beater?" Libby Jordan yelled over the speakrphone.

"Penalty to Gryffindor!" Madame Hooch yelled, causing the Slytherins to sigh angrily.

"I don't know, Jordan" Professor McGonagall told her "I suppose-"  
"There's nothing we can do, we must continue with the play!" Madame Hooch said firmly.

"With only one beater?" Ezra called out "One beater and two bludgers- isn't that dangerous?"

"It's extremely dangerous, Mr Fitzgerald" Madame Hooch told him.

"It's Fitz" Ezra mumbled angrily "Is there no way we can get another player on?"  
"Rules are rules" Madame Hooch shrugged "You better hope your team has a few tricks up their sleeves, Mr Fitzgerald" Ezra balled his fists.

"IT'S STILL FITZ!" he shouted "ALRIGHT TEAM, WE NEED TO WORK HARDER THAN EVER NOW, IS EVERYONE READY?"  
The Gryffindor team simultaneously nodded their heads, but were cut short by the sound of the whistle.

The score was 100:30 now, and Emily realised that now was the time. She spotted Noel Kahn hovering a few feet away from her, and she knew that he was not going to attempt to catch the snitch unless Emily first went for it herself.

"YOU CAN DO THIS, EM!" she heard someone shout. Squinting her eyes, Emily scanned the Gryffindor pitch for the shiny golden ball that would mean a sure victory for her and her team.

"Struggling, Fields?" Noel Kahn yelled over the wind. Emily whipped her head round to find his sneering face.

"Not as much as you, Kahn" she shot back "How's your first game?"  
"Better, once I beat you" Noel told her "It's what Maya would have wanted, anyhow"  
Emily gritted her teeth, and flipped a finger at Noel. She was sick of Slytherin using Maya against everyone, as if she was just some sort of insurance.

"She never liked any of you lot" Emily shouted at him "She would want me to win this, and you know it" Noel laughed.

"Are you sure about that?" he said. Emily cut her eyes at him.  
"Why wouldn't I be?" she jeered back at him. Noel ran his fingers through his hair and stuck out is bottom lip.

"Oh nothing" he said "It's just, I'm sure she wouldn't have thought like that when we were curled up in the common room with her tongue down my throat"

And that's when it stung. Emily felt an unfamiliar pang forming in her stomach, as she blinked at Noel Kahn in disbelief.

"Y-you're lying" Emily muttered. Noel's mouth formed into a small curve.

"Am I?" he said "Damn, she really never told you? Makes you wonder how much you really knew about that girl, doesn't it?"

"You're lying" Emily repeated "Maya didn't...she would never?"

"Then you clearly didn't know her as well as you thought you did" Noel shrugged. Emily stared at the boy hovering on his broom in front of her. The game didn't even matter anymore, for in that moment she wanted nothing more than to push him off his broom to his impending death. On the other hand, it made her want to beat Slytherin more than she had ever wanted anything before.

And suddenly, she saw it. The small golden ball, hovering just above Noel's head. Without thinking about the consequences, she reached out and tried to grab it, and was unsurprised when it started zooming away in the opposite direction.

"What was that?" Noel breathed, and that's when he spotted it too. He looked back at Emily and squinted his eyes. At the exact same time, both Emily and Noel sped off in the direction of the snitch.

Emily couldn't help it- in her head, every single thing that Maya had ever said to her were racing around in her brain. She wondered how many of them had actually been genuine. Why had she lied to her about Noel Kahn? Was that place on the roof really just 'her and Maya's place', or had she taken Noel there before? And suddenly it hit her that that kiss in the snow had not been Maya's first kiss at all, and it was probably just some sort of meaningless kiss that she had felt like stealing at that moment.

The snitch was a little more than arms length now, but Noel was not going to let her get it that easily. He was so close to her now that she could feel the heat of his breath against her chin.

"There's...no...way...Fields" he yelled, desperately reaching out for the snitch.

"Isn't there?" Emily simply said back. She looked down at the broom she was sitting on – _her_ broom. The one Alison had gotten for Christmas. She realised for the first time that scribbled on the handle was a little red heart, that she assumed Alison had drawn on when she was not looking. She looked up, and realised that she had started going faster. Every second that she thought about her friends, about her broom, about Alison, she was gaining speed and Noel Kahn was trailing further and further behind her. And finally, Emily felt her fingers closing around the tiny golden ball.

"EMILY FIELDS HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Libby Jordan was shouting "GRYFFINDOR WIIIIIIIN!"  
There was a cheering louder than Emily had ever heard in her life. It was coming from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and the most loudest, Gryffindor. She slowly hopped off her broom, and found herself to be greeted by the whole Gryffindor team huddling around her.

"YOU ARE A LEGEND!" Ezra Fitz cried. He hauled Emily up by her arms and lifted her on his shoulders "GO GO GRYFFINDOR!"  
The whole stadium had joined in, and the GO GO GRYFFINDOR! chants soon turned into GO GO EMILY FIELDS!.

Emily stared up at the crowd, and spotted Alison clapping frantically, desperately trying to make her way down to the Quidditch pitch to greet her.

"THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND!" Alison shouted proudly. Emily smiled, looking around at all the people chanting. It was the happiest she had felt in a while, and momentarily, she had forgotten about what Noel Kahn had told her up in the air.


	41. Swamp Thing

But she soon remembered again.

The match was officially over, and Gryffindor were celebrating in their common room. Some of the kids has managed to steal a few bits from the kitchen, and some of the older kids had brought in Butterbeer and Firewhiskey. There were banners pinned up around the fireplace reading 'GO GO GRYFFINDOR' and 'EMILY FIELDS IS A LEGEND'.

But she didn't feel like a legend – she felt like a fool. It had just come flooding back to her what Noel Kahn had told her on the Gryffindor pitch, and she had thought about nothing else.

Surely he was lying, right? After all, this was slimy little Noel Kahn. But then it occurred to Emily that she didn't know an awful lot about Maya – not really. She knew that her mom had died when she was little and her dad had left her grandmother to look after her. She knew that she was the first muggleborn to ever be put in Slytherin, and she knew that she didn't really belong there. Or did she? She knew that Maya's favourite singer was Avril Lavigne, and her favourite song was _Complicated_ , and that her favourite colour was green. She knew that her favourite movie was _Pulp Fiction_ and that her favourite thing to do was ride her bike through the woods. She had wanted to be a rock star when she was older, and she wanted to tour the world.

But that was all she knew, and now that Emily thought about it, it didn't seem like a lot at all. She never mentioned even ever having a conversation with Noel Kahn, let alone being 'involved with him'. Well, as involved as two 13 year olds could be.

The last time she had been at a party, Maya had dragged her away from the crowd and given her a bracelet. The bracelet still hung lightly on her wrist, and Emily traced the ' _Emily_ ' with her fingertips. However mad she was at Maya, she wouldn't take it off. Not yet

Emily felt as though Maya had cheated on her, which was stupid. She and Maya had never even been together like that, they were just friends. Good fr-

"Helloooo, earth to Em"

Emily jerked awake to find Alison waving her hand back and forth in front of her face, obviously in a desperate attempt to 'wake her up'.

"Yeah?" Emily replied, acting as though everything was fine. Alison raised an eyebrow.

"Don't 'yeah' me, you were obviously deep in thought about something" Alison said, sipping her Butterbeer. The girl seemed to be glued to that stuff.

"Not really" Emily lied, snatching the bottle off of Ali and taking a sip herself.

"Was it Maya?" she said "Because if it was, you can totally tel-"  
"God, I wish everyone would just shut up about Maya!" Emily interrupted, folding her arms.

"S-sorry" Alison stuttered "I just thought, maybe talking about her would-"  
"She's dead, okay? D-E-A-D. And no amount of 'thinking about her' and 'talking about her' and 'sharing your feelings' is going to bring her back!"

Alison's held her hands up in defence and bowed her head to the ground.

"I-I know" she said "I-I just thought you might want to- never mind" Emily sighed, calming herself down a little.

"I'm sorry" she whispered "I-I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Can we just, please not talk about Maya? Like ever again?" Alison nodded quietly.

"Yeah sure" she said. There was a sudden awkward silence between them, until Alison finally broke it by saying "Soo how come you're being such a wallflower?"

"I am not a wallflower!" Emily argued. But then she turned around, and indeed found herself distanced from everyone else, leaning up against a wall. "Okay maybe I _am_ being a wallflower, but it's not like I wanted to have this stupid party anyway"  
"This 'stupid party' is in honour of you" Alison chuckled "What's a birthday party without the birthday girl?"

"It's not my birthday" Emily said "And it's not to honour me, anyway. It's a Quidditch team victory party, I'm just a member of the team and there's no 'I' in 'Team'" Alison rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but there is one in 'Quidditch'" she said "And in 'Win' and in 'Emily' and-"  
"Okay, whatever" Emily interrupted "What the hell are you doing talking to me anyway? Holden Strauss has been checking you out all night"

"Oh please" Alison scoffed "I refuse to even look at any guy that hasn't yet his puberty" She glanced over at Holden with a teasing look in her eye. She gave him a flirtatious wave, and he attempted to wave back, but just ended up flicking himself in the face with his pinky.

"And what about you anyway?" Alison turned back to Emily and raised an eyebrow.

"What about me what?" Emily questioned. Alison looked around the room, and then back.

"Got your eye on anyone around here?" she whispered to her. Emily scrunched her eyebrows.  
"Ew, no, gross!" she hissed back at her. Unintentionally, she started fiddling with her hands and bowed her head. Alison glanced at her face, and she herself started frowning.

"You were thinking about Maya, weren't you?" she said. Emily guiltily nodded.

"B-but it's not like you think" she told her "In fact, it's really not like you think". Alison finished her bottle of Butterbeer and tossed it aside, Holden Strauss instantly scurrying after it and picking it up.

"What do you mean?" she asked Emily. Emily nervously looked around the room, and hesitantly grabbed Alison's wrist. Alison was taken aback at this, as usually she was the one dragging Emily off somewhere, and never vica versa.

"Come with me" Emily told her, pulling her though the middle of the Gryffindor common room. She headed up the stairs to the girls dorms and letting go of Alison's wrist, sat down on her four poster bed.

"What is it?" Alison asked, slowly and cautiously sitting down next to her. Emily put her head in her hands and slicked her hair back.

"Noel Kah-"  
"Oh for fucks sake" Alison interrupted, clearly pissed off at the sound of that boys name "Sorry, continue" Emily smirked a little.

"When we were playing Quidditch" she continued "J-just before I caught the snitch, h-he told me something" Alison shuffled closer towards Emily and rested her chin on her wrist.

"What did he say?" she asked. Emily looked at her with that sad look that Alison hated in her eyes.

"H-he said" she stammered "T-that him and Maya were...more than friends"

Alison stood up and threw her arms in the air.

"He said WHAT?" she yelled "Oh come on, Em, you can't believe that! He was probably just bluffing to throw you off the match, there was no way that-"  
"Wasn't there?" Emily interrupted "I mean, she was in Slytherin, there must have been at least a few people in her house that she didn't hate"  
"Yeah" Alison said "But I very much doubt that Noel Kahn was one of them!" Emily crossed her legs and dropped her arms down next to her.

"Noel Kahn's a lot of things" she said in a hushed voice "Evil, manipulative-"  
"Self absorbed, conceited, ignorant, arrogant-" Alison listed on her fingers.

"Yeah, all that" Emily continued "But if there's one thing you can't call him, it's a liar"  
Alison sat back down next to Emily and bowed her head. She knew she was right – Noel didn't lie. He only ever used the truth to his advantage to get what he wanted. He would never stoop so low as to lie.

"I'm so sorry, Em" Alison said, wrapping her arm around Emily, who buried her head in her shoulder. Alison could have sworn that Emily was silently sobbing, but didn't say anything about it.

"It's okay" she whispered "It's no one's fault, really. No one's but mine"

"You can't blame yourself" Alison started stroking Emily's hair "Maya was her own person, we all knew that. If she wanted to do something, she went and did it"

There cosy little conversation with suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone screaming.  
"What was that?" Emily asked, raising her head up from Alison's shoulder and wiping her eye.

"Probably some drunk 6th year" Alison shrugged.

But then someone else screamed, and another, and another, and eventually, Emily and Alison were certain that every single Gryffindor member was screaming.

"What the hell?" Alison managed to breathe, as Emily ran as fast as she could out the dorm rooms and down to the common room, Alison following her.

"Em, wait, don't-" Alison tried to grab her, but Emily shook her off briskly. Emily looked down at the common room below her, and people were running around in all different directions to different sides of the room, cowering towards the walls.

"Stay there" Emily protectively held her hand over Alison. The room had suddenly gone from everyone screaming, to nobody making a slight sound.

"What's going on?" Emily demanded. One little first year boy slowly raised his hand and pointed over the other side of the room.

"H-her" he stammered, his face turning from Gryffindor red to ghostly white. To Emily's horror, at the end of his finger, she found a dark hooded figure...

"Give me Alison Dilaurentis" Bellatrix hissed "And no one gets hurt". Everyone looked up at Alison, who was now looking worriedly at Emily.

"No" Emily said "No, I won't let you" she grabbed a hold of Alison's hand and squeezed it tight.

"Em, it's okay-" Alison tried to whisper, but Emily ignored her.

"Foolish girl, sacrificing 25% of the schools life just to save one..." Bellatrix said, her wild frizzy hair cascading down her shoulders.

"Just give her to her!" A fourth year girl said. Emily glared at the girl, and she instantly bowed her head.

"Listen to the girl" Bellatrix pulled her hood down and glared at Alison.

"N-no!" Emily stammered "You've already taken one of my friends from me this year, I won't let you take another!" Bellatrix's face suddenly fell into a mock frown and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Well" she said "I tried to ask you nicely to be polite, but I guess-"  
And suddenly she had vanished out of sight. People were glancing nervously back and forth from the corners of the room. Cautiously, people started moving away from the edges of the room. It seemed as though Bellatrix had really just disappeared into thin air, as there was not a trace that she had ever even been there in the first place.

"Where'd she go?" the first year boy squeaked, shuffling towards the common room sofa and burying his head in a cushion.

"I don't know" said a 5th year boy, whipping out his wand "But as a prefect, I order you all to go to bed at o-"  
"Oh, stuff it Hubbins!" Ezra Fitz interrupted "This a party, and we can't let some swamp thing with a bad hair do ruin it-"

"Is my hair really that bad?" The voice came from behind Emily and Alison, and they turned around quickly. Bellatrix was standing there with her hood back on. The first year boy hid his face in the sofa and hugged the pillow to his chest.

"Go away" Emily sneered at her, pulling out her wand. Ezra and the 5th year boy also had their wands out.

"If you wish" Bellatrix cackled. She fiercely grabbed Alison's mouth with her hand, and Alison desperately tried to wriggle herself free.

"Ali!"  
"Emily!"  
But it was too late- Bellatrix and Alison were both gone before anyone could do anything to stop it.

 **PS- I appreciate these chapters are getting worse and worse, but 3rd year will be worth the wait I promise.**


	42. Flipendo

Alison woke up in a large room, with shiny white and green walls and a grand staircase rising up either side of a fireplace. She looked up, and saw that there was a great chandeleir hanging from the roof of a glass ceiling. The floor she was lying on was marble and cold against her skin, and for a moment she felt as though she was lying in a bathtub. There was a small amount of blood trickling down her cheek, and it was dripping against her shoulder.

"W-where am I?" Alison demanded, fluttering open her eyes and looking around the floor around her. Bellatrix Lestrange was sat in the corner of the room in a chair, fiddling with a strand of her hair. Alison rubbed her head, noticing the pain that she found there. Pulling her finers away, she found them covered in blood, both wet and dried.

"Why would I tell you that?" Bellatrix laughed, twirling her hair around her finger. She was still dressed in her dark cloak, and was grinning menacingly.

"Let me go, you bloody toilet brush!" Alison tried to yank at Bellatrix, but found that her hands were chained to a large pole in the middle of the room. Bellatrix laughed.

"Of all the insults I've heard over the years, never did I think I would be called a 'toilet brush' by a 13 year old girl" she jumped down off of the chair and moved slowly towards Alison.

"I'm never going to help you" Alison spat, still trying to wriggle free from the chains "Not in a million years"

"Stupid girl!" Bellatrix hissed "How many times do I have to tell you idiot children, it doesn't matter if you want to or not. Don't you realise that I can force you against your will?"

"Really?" Alison said "Are you sure?" Bellatrix looked puzzled, and played with her hair again.

"What do you mean, am I sure? Of course I'm sure!" she said, rather insulted.

"You said that there was a prophecy, right?" Alison was still trying to yank her hands out the chains.

"But did the prophecy say anything about whether the 'blood of Voldemort' could continue his work against their own will? What if it doesn't work" Bellatrix looked taken aback, and bent down so her face was near level with Alison's own.

"Don't you dare" she hissed, flicking bits of saliva against Alison's skin "Speak the Dark Lords name. You lips are not worthy enough of him. He was a brilliant, brilliant, amazing, man. How _dare_ you-"  
"Ooooo, has someone got a bit of a crush?" Alison interrupted "You don't scare me, lady"  
This wasn't the truth. On the inside, Alison was shaking profoundly and every ounce of her wished that she had not provoked the woman.

"I don't believe that" Bellatrix cackled, bringing her fingers up to Alisons chin and gently scratching it with her long fingernail "What are you, just an ickle little teenage girl? How are you any match for me, the right hand woman of the greatest wizard who ever lived!" Alison spat a ball of saliva in the womans eye, and she rubbed it away in disgust.

"If you're so certain about this plan" Alison said "Then why am I still tied up here? Why haven't you started doing whatever you're planning to do with me. Surely, these are precious seconds"  
Bellatrix's faced formed into a large grin and she ran her fingers through her scraggy hair.

"How am I supposed to start my work with an old fool like Minerva McGonagall still running around the castle?" she answered "I can't begin my work until that foolish lady is gone for good, and not to mention your little friend"

Alison snorted with amusement.

"Emily?" she said "You're scared of a 13 year old child?"  
"Not scared" Bellatrix snapped "But she's a bit of an inconvieniece, isn't she? Always feeling the need to protect everyone...especially you. Always you" Alison rolled her eyes.

"So what are you gonna do, kill them?" she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Not Minerva, no" the woman sneered "Just...get her to do my bidding. As for the girl, she is of no use to me" Alison struggled against the chains again, as Bellatrix broke into another cackle.

"No!" Alison shouted "I won't let you hurt her!" Bellatrix pouted mockingly and traced Alison's cheek with her fingernail.

"And how are you going to do that, girl?" she mimicked "You wouldn't be able to do even a knockback jinx to save your life!"

Alisons face suddenly lit up. On a hunch, she felt into her pocket, and much to her surprise felt the familiarly bony feeling of her wand in her pocket. Making sure Bellatrix wouldn't notice, she slipped it out and held it behind her back.

"I may not be very good" she said "But I sure do know how to do it. _Flipendo_!"

Bellatrix wasn't knocked back, but was simply nudged back on her feet. She looked down and then up at Alison with a wicked grin.

"Was that supposed to have an effect on me?" she laughed "Silly little girl with her silly little jinxes"

And she walked away laughing, her messy hair waving around and her arms clutching her sides.

Alison smirked, and looked down at her wand. For exactly what she had wanted to happen, had happened.

...

Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily sat in Professor McGonagalls office with their heads in their hands. Professor McGonagall was busy scribbling something down on a piece of paper with a look of sincerity about her face.

"Ministry officials are on their way" she assured the girls "They're doing everything they can to find Alison". She went back to the scribbling.

"I just can't believe it" Hanna whispered, trying not to disturb McGonagalls scribbling "That she got Alison...again..."  
"None of us can believe it, Han" Spencer said, chewing at her fingernails like she did when she was anxious. Aria was doing this too, her pink hair getting caught in her teeth.

"It's all my fault" Emily sighed, slicking her hair back with both of her hands, as she did when she was profoundly stressed. "I should've hid her, or protected her, or something..."  
"Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Emily Fields" Hanna warned her "Bellatrix Lestrange is evil, and has atleast 50 years of experience on you. There's nothing you could have done-"  
"I could've offered myself" Emily argued "I could've gone, instead of her, I could've-"  
"No" Spencer interrupted "No, you couldn't have. Bellatrix wanted Alison, and that's who she was going to get. This is no ones fault but her own"  
Emily nodded in agreement, as did Hanna and Aria.

Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, a woman in a black dress and several men appeared, standing at Professor McGonagalls door, causing the old woman to jump in her seat.

"We are here on behalf of the ministry" the woman cleared her throat and said "In regards of the case of Alison Dilaurentis, as the minister could not be present at this mome-"

"Oh, do shut up Miss Granger, and give your favourite Professor a hug" McGonagall suddenly laughed. The woman sighed with a huge smile on her face and hugged the old woman.

"That's Hermione Granger" Spencer nudged Emily and whispered "The one that gave us the money for Avril Lavigne" As the woman turned around, Emily saw that she was in fact right.

"You're the girls that were friends with Maya St Germain" Hermione said, looking at the four 2nd year girls standing before her "The ones that I gave the money to towards her memorial back in Easter!"  
The four girls nodded silently, not sure what else to do. Hermione smiled.

"Well, it is great to see you again" she said "Of course, I regret the unfortunate circumstances in which that is"

"Thank you" Spencer squeaked "It is good to see you too, Miss Granger"

"Oh please" Hermione said, waving a hand "Call me Hermione. Now, Professor-"  
"Call me Minerva" The Headmistress smirked.

"Of course, Minerva" Hermione continued "So, the ministry are doing all they can to find Alison Dilaurentis. They have sent Aurors all round the country, searching every place that they can find. All armed, of course. Bellatrix Lestrange is a very dangerous woman"

"Good, good" McGonagall nodded "I must say, Miss Granger, the ministry has been running a lot smoother ever since you started working there" Hermione blushed a little.

"Oh please" she said "That's all down to Kingsley. Brilliant man, really"  
And then both women turned their heads and started whispering about something that they didn't want the others in the room to hear about. The four girls sat back down hopelessly, and started fiddling with things they could find.

"Miss Granger, Miss Granger!" a small man suddenly came running into the Headmistress's office.

"What is it, Leeworth?" Hermione said, staring at the gasping man who now had his hands on his knees.

"We have a lead on the girl" he finally managed to say "On Alison Dilaurentis"  
Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily all stood up simultaneously, Professor McGonagall now walking curiously towards the small man.

"How?" she asked him, adjusting her bottle green hat, as if to look more authorised.

"The Ministry got an alert about 3 minutes ago" he started explaining "For underaged magic. The knockback jinx, to be precise" Emily and Spencer glanced at each other, and then back at the man.

"And it was Alison?" McGonagall asked him. He nodded his head rapidly, and wiped a bead of sweat from his bald head.

"Yes" he said "The jinx used on the victim was not successful, and only managed to stun the victim for not even a millisecond". Hermione Granger wagged her figner at a gaurd standing in the corner, and him and two others instantly came running over.

"Why would Ali use a knockback jinx, she knows she's rubbish at those!" Hanna whispered into Emily's ear. Emily shrugged, but then a sudden realisation came to her.

"Unless...she did it on purpose" she told Hanna, who looked even more confused than she had previously.

"What?" Hanna said. Emily grinned.  
"She knew it wouldn't work, so she wouldn't be charged for anything real" Emily said "Sh-she did it on purpose, so that the ministry would find her. She's brilliant"  
Emily felt a surge of proudness of her best friend.

"Obviously, this shall be overlooked, am I right?" Hermione asked the man. He shrugged his shoulders, which Hermione did not look pleased about "It was most obviously in self defence aganist a dark wizard, Leeworth, surely you must understand?" Leeworth nodded his head even more franticalyl than before, as if he was scared.

"S-sure Misses, but that is ultimately the Ministers decision to make, I-"  
"Kingsley is a close friend of mine" Hermione interrupted "I'm sure he will understand"  
"Not to interrupt, Miss Granger, but we're wasting precious time here!" McGonagall piped up. Hermione nodded her head.

"Of course, Profess-Minerva" she said "Leeworth, where did the Ministry trace the underaged magic source to?"

Leeworth looked around the room nervously, as if he was scared to be heard by anyone. Then, he stood on his tiptoes and whispered something in Hermione Granger's ear. The woman froze, and glared at him.

"Are you sure?" she said "I heard no one had been in that place for years!" Leeworth nodded.

"Which, if you don't mind me adding, is probably why she is there!" Hermione nodded.

"Of course, of course" she said "Well I must say, the name does bring back a great deal of memories"  
She glared desperatly down at her bare arm at something which looked much like a scar, and she wondered what on earth Alison had to do with some scar on her arm. Hermione quickly snapped out of whatever she had been doing, and whispered something to the gaurds.

"Minerva, if you don't mind me asking, please may we use your fireplace?" McGonagall hurried over to the shelf over the fireplace and grabbed a pot of what looked like dust.

"Of course, Miss Granger" she said, looking rather flustered "Whatever it takes" Hermione nodded and took the dust out of Professor McGonagalls hand, giving some to each of her gaurds and then a bit to herself. Just when she was about to say something, she darted her eyes towards Emily, Spencer, Aria and Hanna.

"Minerva" she said "Would it be okay if these children come with us?"

McGonagall scrunched her eyebrows, as if about to say definitely not.

"Well that is your decision, Miss Granger, as a representative of the Ministry" she said "But if you don't mind me asking, why do you require the help of four little girls?" Hermione smirked.

"If there is one thing that I learnt at Hogwarts, Professor" she said "Is that you should never underestimate the abilities of children. I'm sure you remember me and my friends when we were there age. We were quite useful to the safety of the school, were we not?"

Emily thought that McGonagall was going to shout at her and blow her steam, but much to her surprise, the old woman gave her a warm smile.

"I understand" she nodded "Montgomery, Marin, Hastings, Fields, please, if you would join Miss Granger in the – er – fireplace"  
The girls looked at each other and then at Hermione granger. Hesitantly, and without saying a word, they shuffled over towards the fireplace and took a handful of Floo Powder out of her hand.

"I assume you've all travellened by Floo Network before?" Hermione asked them. Everyone nodded , but Hanna.

"Just follow what I do" she said to Hanna. Then, flicking a strand of hair out of her eyes and clearing her throat, Hermione Granger loudly and clearly spoke the words-

" _Malfoy Manor_ "


	43. Split-Ends McGee

Hermione Granger, her gaurds, and four 2nd year girls landed in a fireplace far away from Hogwarts in a puff of smoke. Malfoy Manor had long been deserted, and was therefore gathering dust. Sat in the middle of the marble frontroom, her hands tied to a large pole, was Alison Dilaurentis.

"Ali!" Emily instantly yelled, running over to her friend. The other three girls followed.

"Emily!" Alison yelled back.

"Careful" Hermione grabbed a hold of Emily's wrist, and the other three girls stopped in their tracks too "Bellatrix could be anywhere"  
"She's right" one of the beefy looking gaurds grunted, adjusting his hat and holding up his wand.

"Thank you, Goyle" Hermione sighed sarcastically "My, this place is a lot dirtier than the last time I was here. Then again, I was lying on the floor having the flesh ripped out of my arm"

No one acknowledged this comment.

"She's not here" Alison piped up, still attempting to break from the chains "She's gone to the castle"

"The castle?" Spencer said "What's she doing there?"  
"She's gone to hurt McGonagall...and...Emily" Alison explained. Everyone gasped and looked back at forth from eachother, to Emily, to Hermione, and back to Emily again.

"Me?" Emily questioend "What does she want to hurt me for?" Alison sighed.

"She said you're an inconvienience" she told her "That with you around, there's no way she'd ever be able to gain full control and get close to me" Spencer screwed her eyebrows.

"Is this not close enough?" she pointed at the handcuffs that Alison was still trying to loosen.

"She won't be there for long once she finds out we're here" Hermione said cautiously.

"She's right" the other gaurd grunted, straightening his uniform and slicking back the hair he had left.

"Thank you, Crabbe" Hermione, once again, sighed sarcastically "She could turn up any minute"  
Emily wriggled free from Hermione's wrist, and ran over to where Alison was tied up. In a desperate breath, she wrapped her arms around her, the other three girls following her.

"We're so glad you're okay!" Aria said, Alison hugging her tightly "We missed you!"  
"Yeah, we really craved your presence in the 25 minutes you were gone" Spencer added with that token iconic Spencer Hastings sarcasm in her voice

"Did you like my little magic trick?" Alison whispered to them. Emily smiled.

"It was brilliant" she said "How did you think to do that?"

"I thought like Spencer" Alison said simply, causing Spencer to blush and fold her arms.

"We missed you" Spencer admitted, hugging her cousin tightly, Alison hugging her back.

"Well isn't this just an adorable little reuininon?"  
Confirming everyone's biggest fears, Bellatrix Lestrange emerged from the fire inbetween the staircases, her hood pulled down to her shoulders and her teeth gleaming yellow.

"Get behind me" Hermione ordered to the girls. None of them argued, and in a second, everyone had scurried behind her.

"Filthy mudblood!" Bellatrix shrieked "I should have killed you when I had the chance, and that good for nothing carrot boyfriend of yours!" Hermione blushed a deep shade of red.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that" she hissed, raising her wand up higher "And let this girl go, or the dementors will take you straight to Azkaban" Bellatrix let out a high pitched cackle.

"You think that place scares me?" she said "Please, look at me! There's hardly any sanity left to suck out!" Hermione gritted her teeth, and the gaurds named Crabbe and Goyle shifted closer towards her, clearly scared of the psychotic woman in front of them.

"Crabbe, Goyle, so good to see you!" she stepped closer, causing them to take a jump back "Although, Crabbe, I'm almost certain that you died in a fire"  
"I lived" the shortest gaurd muttered. Bellatrix gave a mock sigh of relief.

"Such a shame" she said "Your parents were such great people – how do you think they would react if they knew that you took orders from a filthy mudblood like Hermione Granger!"  
"Back off" Spencer stupidly pulled out her own wand. Bellatrix crouched down on her knees.

"Aw, look at this ickle thing!" she said "Isn't it past your bedtime, little one?" Spencer grinded her teeth, and jabbed her wand towards Bellatrix.

"You don't know what I can do" she warned. Bellatrix, however, found this hilarious.

"Is this what it's coming to these days, Granger?" she stood back up and glared at Hermione "Having little children do your bidding?" Hermione walked forward, so she was nose to nose with Bellatrix.

"I do my own bidding, thank you very much. _REDUCTO_!"

Suddenly, Bellatrix flew at least 6 feet in the air, her limbs flailing uselessly at her side.

"GIRLS, GAURD ALISON!" Hermione shouted " _FLIPENDO_!"

The girls did as they were told, and ran over to where Alison was crouched. Alison, almost subconnsciously, grabbed a hold of Emily's robes and buried her face in them.

"I'm scared, Em" she whispered. Emily placed a hand at the back of Alison's head and gently stroked her hair.

"It's okay, Ali" she whispered back "Everything'll be okay, I promis-"  
"CRABBE, GOYLE, MAKE YOURSELVES USEFUL YOU BLOODY OAFS!" Hermione was shouting, as her and Bellatrix were desperately shooting jinxes and hexes at each other. Crabbe and Goyle held their wands high in the air, and produced a shield charm to protect the girls.

"YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR ME, MUDBLOOD!" Bellatrix shouted over the defeaning sound of the spells. " _STUPEFY_!"  
And just like that, Hermione was knocked back to the floor, her body limp. Her eyes were wide open and she looked as though she had just seen a ghost.

"Hermione!" Hanna shouted, as the woman lay there looking lifeless. The girls eyes widened in shock, as they darted their eyes back and forth from Crabbe and Goyle and the death eater.

"And as for you two" Bellatrix shrieked " _PETRIFICUS TOTALAS!_ "

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, and simultanously, froze solid and fell to the floor.

"Great" Spencer muttered. Emily admired how she could still be her sarcastic self, even in times like these.

"Back away from her, children" Bellatrix ordered, waving her hand. All four girls stood up and held their wands out at once, staring Bellatrix in the eye with a deathly look.

"No" Aria said firmly, her hands trembling against her wand. "We won't" Bellatrix laughed.

"Well aren't you just adorable, what's your name sweetie?" She squated down so that her face was level with Aria's. Aria pursed her lips and grinded her teeth.

"Aria" she said hotly. "Stay away from our friend, or else" Bellatrix patted Aria's head.

"Or else what? You'll set your teddy bear on me?" she cackled "Please, children can't do magic" Hanna shuffled closer towards Bellatrix, and held up her wand even higher.

"Well, you know what, lady" she sneered "Alison may not be able to do a knockback jinx, but I sure fucking can. _FLIPENDO!"_

Bellatrix, much to her surprise, was knocked backwards onto the cold marble floor.

"Impressive" she sneered "That all you got, little children?" Hanna, Aria, Spencer and Emily all looked at each other at the same time, and then all at once shouted.

" _STUPEFY_!"

Bellatrix was pushed back even further, her eyes wide open in shock and the rest of her body stunned, as Hermione Granger had been. Aria scurried over to her, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a large key.

"Quick, Em, untie her!" she shouted, throwing Emily the key. Emily grabbed it in one hand and skidded over to the pole that Alison was chained to.

"Emily!" Alison breathed "Quick, she could wake up any minute!"  
Emily frantically wiggled the key around in the lock, and with a snap, the lock came free. Alison wasted no time into throwing her arms round Emily's neck and burying her face in her shoulders.

"I'm so glad you're okay" Emily was almost sobbing now, squeezing her friend as tightly as she could. Alison also felt a slight tear prickle down her face.

"Hate to break the emotional reunion" Spencer interrupted "But we don't have a lot of time-"  
It was true. Bellatrix was waking up from her stunning, and had her wand held out in front of her.

"You're making a mistake" she hissed at Emily "You're all making a mistake!"

"The dementors are coming" Hanna warned "They'll take you to Azkaban, and-" Bellatrix interrupted her with a cackle, as she did most of the time.

"I'm not scared of those old dingbats!" she yelled "Now, let my prisoner go, or else" Emily grabbed hold of Alison's hand, causing her stomach to unexpectedly do a flip over. Nerves, probably.

"Never" she said, glaring her in the eye.

"Fine" Bellatrix shrugged "Have it your way. _Crucio_!"

Alison suddenly collapsed to the floor, shrieking in pain. It was a sound more shrilling than any of them had ever heard in their lives, and Alison had turned bright red trying to fight the pain.

"Stop it, you're killing her!" Aria shouted, holding out her wand " _Stupe_ -"

" _Petrificus Totalas_!"

Aria froze mid-spell, and collapsed to the floor, as Crabbe and Goyle had done seconds before. Her eyes were wide open, and her wand fell loosely at her side. Alison was still screeching, clutching her sides in desperate pain. Emily ran to her side and tried holding her in her arms, but Alison was rolling around too much to even notice her.

"Stop it!" Spencer yelled "That's illegal! That-"  
" _Stupefy_!"

Spencer was thrown back, and fell limply to the cold ground. She wasn't moving. Hanna and Emily cowered towards each other, and grabbed each others hand.

"Hm" Bellatrix mimicked "Two is too many, don't you think? _Petrificus Totalas_!"

Hanna froze in the same way Aria had, her back thudding against the floor. Emily was left, standing alone, only her wand to protect her.

"Much better" Bellatrix jeered "Rematch, don't you think?"  
"STOP IT!" Emily yelled over Alisons cries of pain. The shrill of her voice was possibly the worst thing Emily had ever heard, and she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks at the sight of her best friend in such immense pain. Bellatrix pouted.

"Oh, fine" she said, waving her wand. Alison's yelling instantly stopped, and she struggled to catch her breath "After all, I do need her to have a fully functioning brain. _REDUCTO_!"

But Emily was quicker. She instantly cast a shielding charm, and the two were locked in a giant ball of spell, much like they had been the day Maya died.

"Foolish girl, can't save anyone for anything!" Bellatrix cackled "I saw a similar look in your eyes when I killed your other friend-"

Emily's face burned red, as flashes of Maya appeared in her mind. She tried to block them out, but was having a hard time. She kept picturing the exact moment Maya had died, the look on her face, her last words-"  
"YOU CAN DO IT EMILY!"  
It was Alison, leaning weakly against the pole she had been chained to. Emily looked over, and saw her hopeful face. She noticed her features one by one. Her eyes, her pretty hair, her lips...

And then suddenly she found herself pushing. The spell ball was now further towards Bellatrix's side than it was her own.

"I BELIEVE IN YOU, EM!" Alison was shouting, that same desperate look in her eyes. The shield spell was getting stronger and stronger, and Bellatrix now looked a little scared.

And suddenly, she had been knocked back. Emily lowered her wand, and cast her eyes over to Bellatrix, who was laying defeatedly on the ground. She sneered, and wiped her mouth.

"Clever girl" she mocked "But not clever enough, _REDUC_ -

But she was interrupted by a sudden chill, and then a dark cloaked figure came floating into the room. And then another, and another.

"Dementors" Emily mouthed. Bellatrix stared up in fear at the dementors that were looking down on her.

"Oh for gods sake" she sighed, clicking her fingers. And then, with a large cloud of smoke, Bellatrix had disappeared. No sooner than this happened, the dementors had floated out of the dirty Malfoy Manor windows, and off into the night.

"Emily!"

Alison was running over towards Emily Fields, and she flung herself on top of her with all the force she could. Emily almost choked by the amount Alison was squeezing her.

"You did it" Alison breathed "You saved me. Again" Emily blushed, and looked her friend in the face.

"Yeah, well, it was only because of you" she admitted. Alison looked confused, and pulled away.

"Me?" she questioned "What did I do?" Emily wasn't too sure of this herself.

"Y-you encouraging me" she explained "It made me stronger, I don't know" Alison cut her off by hugging her again. Emily hugged her back, suddenly realizing that if she could stay like this forever, then she would.

"Is that true?" A voice behind them suddenly said. Hermione Granger was emerging from the floor, rubbing her head with her hand "You saved her? You did this?" Emily blushed, but Alison nodded wildly. Hermione stuck out her bottom lip, and nodded.

"You remind me a lot of someone I know" she told her, brushing down her dress. "Now come on, let's get these lot back to the castle before Split-ends Mcgee comes back for us"

Both girls laughed, and held onto each others hands.


	44. A Smoke Show

"So let me get this right" Professor McGonagall screwed the skin between her nose together "You _all_ stunned her?" The five 2nd year girls, all covered in soot from the fire, nodded frantically.

"Yeah!" Hanna said, excitedly "It was super cool,really! It knocked her out for a good few minutes too. Of course, this was before she stunned us all back and used the Cruciatas curse on Ali-"  
"She did what?" McGonagall interrupted "As I'm sure you are all aware of, the Cricuatas curse is one of the deadliest curses that one can perform on a person, and-"

"It hurt like hell, Professor" Alison admitted, rubbing her elbow with her hand gently.

"I'm sure it did, Miss Dilaurentis" McGonagall said "And I must insist that Madame Pomfrey takes a good look at you later on to make sure none of the effect were critical" Alison nodded.

"It appears that all five of you girls have shown great bravery today" McGonagall continued "And therefore I feel it is my duty to award each of you fifty house points"  
The girls turned to each other in excitement and smiled. This meant an additional 50 for Hufflepuff, 100 for Ravenclaw, and 100 for Gryffindor.

"So what happened to Miss Lestrange in the end?"McGonagall continued to ask, as if the girls were deep in some sort of storytime session.

"It was Emily" Spencer admitted "Bellatrix got us all out the way- she wanted to duel Emily" McGonagall stroked her chin, as if she knew something that they didn't.

"I'm sure she did" she finally said, resulting in confused looks on the girls faces.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Aria asked.

"Well" McGonagall began "Emily defeated her once down in the Chamber of Secrets, and then again last February-"

"Actually" Emily interrupted "Spencer was the one that thought to petrify her down in the Chamber of Secrets, and Alison was the one who saved me from Bellatrix in February" McGonagall sighed.

"You don't think I am aware of that, Miss Fields?" she said. Emily shrugged in embarassment "Of course, it was the others in the end that were the reason that you managed to escape her. The point is, Miss Fields, that you were the one that initiated the duelling against Bellatrix in the first place both times" Emily stuck out her bottom lip in curiosity.

"I'm not sure I'm following, Professor" she admitted. McGonagall smirked.

"The reason that she wanted to duel you, Emily, is that she is afraid of you. She is afraid of you simply because she knows that you are not afraid of her. You proved this both times you attempted to fight her. However, because both times it was others who eventually caused the end of the fight, she had to make sure that there was no one else who could possibly interfere. She needed to see if you could do it on your own and as it turns out, Miss Fields, you can. Bellatrix now knows that there is someone out there who is not afraid of her and has the power to destroy her. You, Miss Fields, are her biggest fear" The girls stood stunned, and gazed up at Emily.

"I don't understand" Emily said "Why is she afraid of me? I'm just a kid, and she's a powerful criminal"

"Bellatrix is not what she once was" McGonagall said "She is weakening, and she knows it"

"Does this mean she'll be back?" Alison asked. McGonagall's faced turned fearful.

"I am afraid it is impossible to know" she said. An awkward silence formed over the room, as everyone took in the events that had just happened, and thought about what might happen in the future to come. The girls managed to catch their breaths, and the awkward silence was finally broke when McGonagall said

"I'm sure you girls are absolutely famished! There is a feast in the Great Hall if you would like to proceed" The girls all nodded simultaneously.

"Thanks, Professor" Emily said to her. McGonagall smiled.

"No need to thank me, Miss Fields. Now run along, I'm sure you're all tired as well. A good nights sleep will fix you up well"  
No ones face lit up as much as Hanna's, as the five girls proceeded to exit the Headmistress' office and run down to the great hall.

Minerva McGonagall sat back in her desk, letting out a great sigh. She took her bottle green hat off, and brushed dust off it lazily. She looked up at the large portrait that hung above her desk, and expectantly found Albus Dumbledore's face peering down at her, his long grey beard hanging down to bottom of the picture frame and looking as tidy as ever.

"You sounded an awful lot like me just then, Minerva" he said. McGonagall shrugged mockingly.

"I learned from the best" she replied with a large smile. Albus Dumbledore stroked his chin.

"That Emily" he continued "She reminds me a lot of Potter, does she you?" McGonagall nodded peacefully, as she put her hat back on her tidied head and adjusted it perfectly.

"She has a lot of potential" she admitted. Dumbledore nodded.

"There's one thing you missed out when you were telling them about Bellatrix Lestranges motives, Minerva" he told her. "You forgot to mention the true reason why Emily Fields is what she fears most" McGonagall spun around in her new swivvel chair and looked up at him.

"And that is?" she asked mockingly, knowing the answer.

"That Emily Fields is the only thing that can prevent her from getting what she truely wants, as she is the thing that Bellatrix's object of desire loves most in the world" McGonagall snorted.

"I thought I'd let them figure that one out by themselves" she told him,pouring a glass of something that looked to be alchoholic. Dumbledore reached for a glass that sat on the shelf of his painting, and poured his own alchoholic drink.

"Cheers to that" he grinned, raising his glass. McGonagall raised her own glass.

"And all the rest"

"Go on, just do it!" Emily urged, nudging Toby Cavenaugh in the back with her quill.

"N-no I can't" he said, blushing and covering his face "I can't" Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yes you can, and you will" she told him "Come on, don't let that broken arm be for nothing" Toby continued shaking his head, as Emily pushed him further towards the carriage that her friends were sat in. She poked him with her quill again.

"What if she bites?" Toby asked nervously, looking back at Emily hopefully. Emily snorted in amusement.

"She won't bite!" she assured him "Well, she might. But it'll be worth it in the end right?" Toby gulped nervously, and nodded his head a little unconvincingly.

"If I do it" he whispered "Will you stop prodding me with that bloody quill?" Emily chuckled.

"Sure" she said "Now come on, I wanna sit back down"

Toby nodded his head firmly, and ran a hand through his hair. He adjusted his tie and robes and with a deep breath, walked into the carriage. The four girls sitting in it turned their heads curiously.

"Hi Toby!" Alison greeted with a small wave. Toby nervously waved back.

"H-hi" he said.

"How's that arm of yours?"Aria asked, noticing the cast on his arm. Toby gulped.

"It's getting better" he said "H-hey, Spencer, c-can I ask you something?"  
The other three girls curiously turned their heads to Spencer, as Emily gave Toby a big thumbs up from the outside of the carriage. Toby beamed hopefully at her, and turned back to Spencer.

"Yeah, I guess" Spencer replied, still managing to squeeze in a hint of sarcasm in her tone. Toby nervously scratched the back of his head, and his cheeks turned bright pink.

"W-would you maybe wanna – er – hang out some time this summer?" Alison, Hanna and Aria's eyes widened as they glanced back and forth from Toby to Spencer, and Spencer just opened her mouth slightly. She adjusted her glasses a little, but said nothing.

"I-it's fine if not" Toby proceeded to say "I-I just thought that m-maybe you'd wand to – uh – hang out sometime, b-but it doesn't matter if not I g-guess" He turned to leave the carriage, his head bowed, but was stopped.

"Hey, Toby" Spencer called back. Toby eagerly turned around with a beam on his face.

"Yeah?" he said back, fiddling with his fingers. Spencers face seemed to show no emotion, as it never did.

"Give me your arm" she ordered. The other girls in the carriage raised their eyebrows in confusion.

"My arm?" Toby wondered "S-sure" He held out his good arm nervously, causing Spencer to roll her eyes.

"Your other arm, dummy" she sighed. Toby blushed nervously, and nuged forward his caster arm. Spencer grabbed it forcefully, and pulled a quill out from her pocket. She scribbled something down quickly on it, and then put the quill back in her pocket. Toby glanced curiously down at his arm, and found a jumble of numbers scribbled on it, with the word 'Spencer' next to it.

"Y-you have a phone?" he asked. Spencer nodded proudly.

"I bought it for myself last year" she told him "Mum and Dad don't know how to work them, but I managed to figure it out. Give me a call"

Toby clutched his arm lovingly, and nodded hysterically at her. Then, before he literally exploded into confetti, he ran out the carriage.

Emily came bounding into the carriage moments later with a smile on her face.

"Sooooo, how'd it go?" she asked Spencer eagerly, squishing herself up next to her.

"She gave him her phone number!" Hanna swooned, nudging Spencer on the arm and causing her to blush furiously.

"Oooooo, did she now?" Emily asked. Everyone nodded.

"It's not that big a deal" Spencer managed to say in a low tone "It's just a phone number"  
"It's more than just a phone number, cousin dear" Alison said "It's like an engagement. A sad, nerdy, Hastings engagement" Spencer kicked her in the leg.

"Careful Spence" Hanna continued "If your face stays that colour for much longer, people will think you're a Gryffindor" Everyone laughed, but Spencer just blushed even harder than she already was.

"I hate you all so much" she lied, with a Spencer Hastings chuckle.

"Who would've ever thought that Spencer Hastings would bag a Quidditch player?" Hanna said.

"Quidditch players are hot" Alison said, with a dreamy look about her face.

"Couldn't agree more" Aria suddenly said, with no further explanation. The trolley witch came walking past the carriage door, with her usual grin about her face.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked.

"No thanks" they all said, as the witch continued down the train with a smile on her face.

"How do you think she got that job?" Hanna asked suddenly, her eyes following the trolley witch "I mean, do you think they held autitions for a fat old lady to walk down a train full of kids and repeat the same 5 words to everyone she met?" Aria giggled.

"I'm sure she wasn't always fat and old" Spencer told her "She must have been young once"  
"That's even sadder!" Hanna said "Imagine being a young aspiring witch, and ending up pushing a load of sweets down a train for a living. It's not even a full time job, the train only makes 6 journeys a year!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Maybe she likes it" Alison said "Maybe she's talentless and annoying, and this is the only job that would take her" Spencer pouted in agreement.

"Sounds a bit like you, Han!" she said. Hanna blushed angrily and gave Spencer a hard prod.

The train finally came to a stop at Kings Cross Station, and the students of Hogwarts went running to their parents one by one. The girls hauled their luggage out of the overhead compartments and looked around.

"There's no way any of you are leaving me alone this summer" Hanna warned all of them.

"I agree" Spencer said "We'll have to arrange something sometime over the phone" Hanna scrunched her eyebrows.

"But I don't have your phone number!" she told her. Spencer bit her lip and headed towards her parents.

"Then ask Toby" she said simply, before whipping her head around and greeting her family. Hanna stood open mouthed watching her.

"She is such a little hoe" she said, before walking off to her own mum, and a grinning man.

"Bye you guys!" Aria said happily, skipping off to her parents and a little boy. Emily and Alison were left standing there, alone, once again.

"Well here we are" Emily said, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly. Alison nodded.

"Thanks again for saving me and all that" she said, even more awkwardly.

"It was nothing" Emily replied "And, I seem to remember having this same conversation last year"

Alison laughed a little "Yeah, I remember that too". Alison was almost walking away, when Emily stopped her once again.

"Hey, Ali?" she called. Alison turned around.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Emily asking, causing Alison to scrunch her eyebrows in confusion.

"Said what?" she asked, ignoring her parents calls for her to hurry up and get in the car.

"About Quidditch players being hot" Emily managed to splutter, instantly regretting it. Alison smirked.

"Look at you, Fields" she said to her "You're practically a smoke show"  
And that was the last thing Alison said to her that year, and you best believe Emily thought about nothing else for the whole of the summer break.


	45. End of Year 2

-So that's the end of Year 2, hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! I will start Year 3 shortly, and there is no doubt that this will be the best one yet if you know what I mean ;)-


	46. Here's To Us

"Okay so" Hanna piped up in her most serious 'Hanna tone'. "In all seriousness, would you rather be a pig with donkey legs, or a donkey with pig legs?" She was lying down on her bed, her legs kicking about the air.

"How in the name of Merlin is what you just said anything to do with being serious?" Spencer chuckled, taking a hair tie from under the bed and lazily tieing her hair back into a ponytail.

The girls were huddled in Hanna's bedroom, buried in sleeping bags and pillows. There was another week left until they went back to school, and they had finally managed to plan a date in which all of them could make. Alison had even convinced her parents to let her stay round her friends house, making sure to miss out the fact that Hanna was muggleborn AND a Hufflepuff.

"Okay, but like, just think about it" Hanna repeated "Pigs are so fucking cute, and donkeys legs are so long, so having a pigs body and donkeys legs would mean you're cute, but you're also pretty tall"

"These questions are shit" Alison said, rolling her eyes. Her legs were sprawled out and resting on Emily's, who had her back leaned up against the edge of Hanna's bed. Her hair had grown over ths summer, and was now a dirty blonde colour instead of the bleach blonde which it had been before. Emily had gotten a little taller, and nonetheless more attractive than she already was

"Would you rather date Noel Kahn, or Hagrid?" Alison asked, and Aria started laughing, which is all she did most of the time these days.

"Definitely Hagrid" Emily replied "100 percent" Spencer nodded her head in agreement.

"I wouldn't date Noel Kahn if you paid me 6000 galleons and bought me a pony" she told them. Spencer was still her usual nerdy self, with her perfectly brushed brunette hair andlarge black rimmed glasses resting on her nose.

"I think he's kinda cute" Aria whispered in a low tone, causing the other girls to turn their heads to her in confusion.

"He's a little shit, Aria!" Alison yelled "Are you telling me that you wouldn't mind going out with that manipulative, kniving little ass-wipe?" Aria shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know" she muttered, burying her head in a pillow, the pink highlights in her hair cascading around her shoulders. Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of boys" she said suddenly "Did anything happen between little Miss Hastings and Hottie Cavenaugh over the summer?" Spencer immediately turned a shade of red. The girls suddenly had flashbacks of the end of last year, when 3rd year (going into 4th year) Toby Cavenaugh had stumbled into their compartment on the Hogwarts express and asked Spencer if she wanted to 'hang out with him' during the summer. Spencer had played it cool and written her phone number on his case, but had turned into a blushing wreck the second Toby had left the carriage.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget!" Alison added, playfully prodding Spencer in the side. Spencer shrugged her shoulders and shly bowed her head down, something that none of the girls had ever seen Spencer Hastings do before. Her glasses were slipping off the edge of her nose.

"We may have met up for pizza" she told them, resulting in a simultaneous 'ooOOoOOoO'.

"Piiizzzzaaa" Hanna echoed teasingly"What _kind_ of pizza?" Spencer started fiddling with something in her lap, and looked as though she'd rather be anywhere else right now.

"Why does it matter?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Details are imporant, Spence" Alison told her "C'mon, we wanna know everything" Spencer sighed and blushed a little more, spinning around in Hanna's desk chair.

"Olive and green peppers" she whispered, now fiddling with her hair. Hanna and Alison looked at each other with wide eyes.

"So you shared a pizza?" Hanna asked, a huge grin on her face. Spencer shrugged.

"I don't know, yeah" she squeaked "Can we just stop talking about this now? We just hung out and bought a pizza, it's not like we're getting married"  
"Yet" Aria couldn't help but add, causing Spencer to shoot her a Hastings death glare. Hanna laughed.

"I can picture it now" Hanna said, jumping to her feet "Oh, Spencer darling, would you do the honour of becoming my nerd-fully wedded wife and spending eternity playing scrabble and eating olive pizza with me" she put on her best manly voice, and held her hand out to Alison.

"Why, yes, Toby my love" Alison said, taking Hanna's hand and jumping up "Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than to be your Mrs Hottie Cavenaugh, and to skip through sunflower fields holding hands in our free time" Hanna mockingly kissed her hand, and Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Maybe, for once, you may even stop studying and I'll actually get to hear something come out of your mouth other than sarcasm!" Hanna continued, running a hand through her hair in a very Toby Cavenaugh like manor.

"Oh, Toby!" Alison said, flinging her arms around Hanna's neck.

"Oh, Spencer!" Hanna said back, as they both started hugging each other and making kissy noises.

"Oh shut up, you two, and get a room" Spencer sighed, ignoring Aria and Emily's hysterical giggles in the background.

"We're _in_ a room" Hanna argued.

"Then get another one" Spencer said back. "Anyway, what about you and Sean? Are you two still kissing and holding hands in public?" It was Hanna's turn to blush now, and the girls diverted her eyes over to her.

"We're good" she managed to squeak "I've only seen him once this summer, because he's been away with his family to Cyrpus" Aria nodded eagerly, as if she was the one dating Sean herself. Alison sat back down, and once again rested her legs on Emily's own. Hanna threw herself down onto her bed.

"I wonder if Noel Kahn's balls have dropped yet" she said out of nowhere.

"Will they ever?" Emily replied, laughing. The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

"So, what subjects did you guys end up picking?" Spencer asked, and no one was surprised that she had managed to bring up schoolwork.

"I chose Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures" Aria replied in her usual squeaky tone "But I might change from Ancient Runes to Divination, I don't know"  
"I don't even remember what I picked" Hanna snorted "Oh yeah, Care of Magical Creatues and Muggle studies" Spencer scrunched her eyebrows.

"I thought you weren't allowed to take Muggle Studies if you were muggleborn" she said. Hanna blew a raspberry and waved her hand.

"They were the old rules, Spence" she told her "I thought I'd take it because it's one garunteed O.W.L, you know? I already know everything there is to know about Muggles because I basically am one" Spencer folded her arms crossly.

"That's cheating" she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination" Emily said, changing the subject.

"Me too!" Alison told her with a high five.

"Well I'm taking Arithmancy and Ancient-"  
"WE KNOW" the other four girls said simultaneously, cutting Spencer off in her tracks.

"You've literally talked about nothing else for like an entire year" Emily mentioned. Spencer looked embarassed, and pushed her glasses back up her face with a pout.

"In case you forgot" she muttered.

Hanna fished out another Butterbeer from the cooler she had under her bed, and popped the top.

"To us!" she said, raising the bottle above her head "To another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and hopefully no one gets kidnapped this time!" Their eyes flicked to Alison, who was laughing quietly.

"To us!" Spencer agreed, raising the empty bottle she had in her hand.

"Here's to surviving another year" Emily joined in, a sad look about her eyes "Some of us didn't"  
Nobody said anything at this point, and just awkwardly shifted their eyes around the room.

"Sorry, Em" Hanna finally said "Forgot". Emily shrugged her shoulders carelessly.

"To Maya" Alison said, raising her glass of orange juice. The other girls joined in, trying to avoid eye contact with Emily altogether.

"But let's not think about Maya" Emily said reluctantly, ignoring the fact that she was the one that bought her up in the first place. "Here's to 3rd year, and all that comes with it"

Aria, Spencer and Hanna were snoring loudly now, Hanna and Spencer on either end of Hanna's bed, and Aria snuggled in a beanbag on the floor. Alison and Emily were on a mattress that Hanna's mum had put in her room, and both were unknowingly lying awake and staring into the oblivion.

"Em?" Alison finally whispered, careful not to wake her sleeping friends.

"Yeah?" Emily whispered back, not realising that Alison had been awake all this time.

"You awake?" Alison asked without thinking, causing Emily to snort in amusement and roll over to face Alison. Alison did the same thing.

"Yeah" she said with a chuckle "Hi" Alison smiled lightly.

"Hi" she said back, but her smile soon faded and turned into a frown. She looked down at the pillow underneath her head, and bit her lip a little.

"What if she comes back?" she murmered in a whisper tone. Emily didn't need to be told who Alison meant by 'she', as she herself had been thinking the exact same thing moments before.

"She won't" Emily told her, although this question had been playing on her mind all summer.

"What if she does?" Alison said back, tucking a strand of hair away from her face. Emily sighed.

"Then I'll protect you" she told her. Alison smiled genuinely, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief once Emily had said this.  
"It's not fair to you" Alison said "For you to keep risking your life for me. One of these days, you're gonna end up getting seriously hurt, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to live with myself once that happens"

"Then let's just hope I'll never have to do it again" Emily said. Alison smiled painfully.

"Thanks, Killer" Alison said. Killer. This was a nickname Emily had not heard Alison use since the first year, and it was a nickname that she loved. It made her feel like a powerful protector, a fearless warrior, a knight in the kingdom of Alison Dilaurentis. She smiled, and although not visible in this light, blushed a little.

"No problem" she replied "It's not like I've found a dangerous serial killer three times already in the last two years" Alison laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't let your head get too big" she told her "You'll have no room for anything else" Emily laughed and kicked her leg.

"Go to sleep, for Merlin's sake" she told her "And stop worrying about this year, everything will be okay" Alison turned back around the face the wall, and gently fluttered her eyes shut.

"If you say so" she said. Emily gulped, and turned around. Even as she spoke the words herself, she didn't believe that there wouldn't be danger this year at Hogwarts.


	47. Water

"Bye, honey!" Pam Fields called from outside of King's Cross Station, dramatically waving a handkerchief. Emily reluctantly waved back at her, but turned away to find her friends as quickly as she could. On the trolley she was pushing sat her owl, Pip. She had barely used him for anything since she started going to Hogwarts, as everyone she wanted to talk to was right there inside the castle. She had sent her parents maybe all of 3 letters, but that was it. Sure enough, standing on platform 9 were Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Alison.

"Took you long enough" Alison said, as Emily parked her trolley up where the other girls had put theirs. She had her own owl with her, Estella, not to mention a huge array of books and magical objects. Spencer's rat, Atticus, sat on Spencer's shoulder nibbling at something small and hard, and Aria's cat was sleeping peacefully amongst the books on Aria's trolley.

"My mum's not good at goodbyes" Emily explained with a shrug.

Looking around at her friends, she noticed that there was a little boy standing next to Aria. He was even shorter than her, and had short light brown hair. He too was carrying a trolley with a large amount of books and items, as well as a scary looking toad with black spots.

"Hey" she greeted him, not sure who he was and why on earth he was standing with her friends.

"Hi" the little boy squeaked back, nervously hiding his face in his jacket hood.

"This is Mike" Aria explained, putting an arm round the boy "My little brother. He's starting at Hogwarts this year" Emily nodded in realization, and smiled welcomingly at little Mike.

"Hi Mike" she said to him.

"This is Emily" Aria pointed in Emily's direction and much to her surprise, Mike's eyes widened.

"The Gryffindor player?" he asked eagerly. Emily looked around, and nodded reluctantly "Woah! That's so cool!"

"Mike loves Quidditch" Aria told her "Our parents got him his own broom last year and he's done nothing but ride around our garden practising for the sport ever since" Emily nodded, not quite sure what she was supposed to do with that information.

"Is it reallt true that you became seeker in your first year?" Mike asked her. Emily chuckled.  
"Yeah" she told him. Mike's tiny little eyes widened in idolisation.

"That's so awesome!" he said "I don't think I'm that good, but I might try out for a Quidditch team once I get better. Can you give me a few tips?" Spencer, Hanna and Alison laughed into their fists.

"Sure" Emily replied, not wanting to disappoint this tiny little first year in front of her. She wondered if she and the other girls had been that small and hopefully this time two years ago.

"It's nearly 11o'clock" Spencer told them, glancing up at the clock and grabbing a hold of her trolley again. The rest of the girls looked up, and found that it was indeed almost 11 o'clock, the time that the Hogwarts express left platform 9 and 3/4 every year. "The train'll be leaving soon" The girls nodded in agreement, and Mike squeezed Aria's hand excitedly.

"Who's up first?" Hanna asked, staring at the intimidating brick wall in front of them.

"I'll go" Spencer said, and no sooner than she said it, she had run through the wall between platforms 9 and 10.

"Woah!" Mike exclaimed, before heading through the wall with Aria himself.

"Hey, I need to go get some water" Alison said suddenly, just before Hanna was about to run through the wall.

"Seriously? Buy water on the train!" Hanna said in confusion, but Alison shook her head.

"The train water tastes like pumpkins" she explained "I'll just go get some quickly from the station shop over there. I've got a bit of muggle money on me, I'll be 30 seconds max" Hanna sighed and rolled her eyes, before running into the wall herself.

"I'll come with you" Emily said, turning her trolley around and heading towards the muggle refreshments stand "But hurry up, or we'll miss the train" Alison nodded.

Alison was sipping her muggle water, and carelessly pushing her trolley back down to platform 9. Emily was walking beside her, poking her finger through Pip's cage as he nipped it lightly. She glanced up at the large clock hovering over the platforms, and her face was suddenly drained.

"Ali" she poked her friend in the ribs "Ali, look at the clock" Alison screwed the lid back on the water and looked up at the clock, her face also draining white.

The clock read ' _11:06_ '

"FUCK!" Alison yelled. She dropped her water, and instantly started running for the platform. Without even stopping, she ran through the wall on platform 9 and was shortly followed by a panting Emily Fields.

Looking around at the platform, her greatest fears had been confirmed. The Hogwarts Express had left without them.

"FUCK!" Ali repeated, sinking to her knees and putting her head in the hands "The train's fucking gone! What the fuck are we supposed to do!" Emily stared breathlessly at the platform. There were a few parents who were now walking back to the 9 and 3/4 entrance, having just said goodbye to their children.

"I don't fucking know!" she replied, which came as a shock to Alison as Emily hardly ever cussed.

Alison slicked her hair back with her hands in stress, and stared blankly at the train tracks.

"How the fuck did it take us 10 minutes to buy a bottle of water?" she questioned, not taking her eyes off the train tracks "What the fuck?" Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed "Ali, what the hell are we gonna do!" Alison looked as though she was about to try and say something, but no words seemed to come out of her mouth.

"We could call your mom" she finally managed to say "She could drive us there, I don't know-"  
"I don't have a phone!" Emily said, sinking her back down against the wall next to Alison "And besides, no one even knows where Hogwarts is. The only way of getting there is by the train!" Alison angrily rested her head on Emily's shoulder and started cracking her knuckles. Suddenly, her eyes darted to Emily's trolley, and her face lit up a little.

"What?" Emily questioned "What is it?". Alison jumped up and walked over to Emily's trolley, pulling something long and thin out of the bottom compartment.

"Your broom!" she exclaimed happily. Emily scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"What about it?" she said, standing up and walking to where Alison was now grinning.

"We could fly there!" Alison told her, completely removing the broom from the trolley now and attempting to hand it to Emily.

"Are you crazy?" Emily said "That could take forever! Besides, I've never even flown anywhere besides the Hogwarts grounds, let alone halfway across the country!" Alison forced the broom into her hand, and patted her on the head.

"What other choice do we have?" she said "There's no way of getting there! Look, if we leave now then we might still be able to find the train on the tracks, and we can just follow it up to Hogwarts!"  
"'We' meaning 'me'" Emily spat at her angrily, but Alison nodded her head eagerly.

"Unless you've got any better ideas?" she asked her, causing Emily to shamefully bow her head and shake her head. "Perfect. You warm up a bit, or whatever, and I'll figure out a way to carry two people's worth of luggage on a 10 pound stick for hours on end"

"Right, are you ready?" Emily asked Alison, who had just sat down behind Emily on her broom with a nervous look about her face.

"Yep" she told her, although Emily was not convinced that she was telling the truth. Looking at Alison, she saw that she had no sort of luggage on her.

"Where the hell's all our stuff?" she asked. Alison smiled menacingly, and pulled a small hangback out from her jacket pocket.

"In here" she told her, holding the tiny bag up. Emily raised an eyebrow, and examined the tiny bag. It was, in short, only a very tiny bag

"Are you kidding me?" Emily shouted over the wind that was now approaching them "What have you done with it, really?" Alison continued to hold out the tiny bag.

"It's in here, really!" she told her "Jason taught me this charm last year that you can put on an object to give it an unlimited amount of space. All our stuff is in this bag, safe and sound. Including Pip and Estella. I chucked some owl food down there for them too, in case they get hungry"  
"Wouldn't it have been a better idea to have them fly along next to us?" Emily asked her.

"Well, we'll let them out at some point" Alison told her "Just, for now. Look, if we keep talking then we really will lose the train and then there'll be no hope whatsoever" Emily turned back around, and took a deep breath, as she knew Alison was right. She left Alison's arms wrap around her waist, and she knew that this was a signal for take off.

"One more thing" Emily said, turning around to find Alison now resting her head on Emily's back "What if a muggle sees us?"

"They'll think we're a bird or something" Alison said "Now hurry the fuck up, Fields, or I'll be forced to take the wheel myself"

The girls had been flying for almost an hour now, and Emily was dangerously starting to become tired. It was getting colder and colder the further they followed the tracks, and she was starting to wish that she had brought a coat.

"Can you see it yet?" Alison yawned, meaning the castle. Emily shook her head hopelessly.

"Nope" she told her "But it shouldn't be too far up now. I recognize these fields and stuff" The fields below them were some of those in which Emily would see when she was doing Quidditch practice, and wanted to venture out a little further than the stadium itself. A surge of familiarity fell over her, and sure enough in the distance, she spotted the magnificent building that was Hogwarts Castle.

"I see it!" Alison exclaimed, pointing at the castle excitedly and suddenly waking up from her little nap. It was almost complete darkness now, and Emily was having trouble navigating accurately.

"And I see the train too!"  
Sure enough, below them was the Hogwarts express, now pouring with students of all shapes sizes and colours.

"Firs' years, follow me!" came the familiar cry of Rubeas Hagrid. The first years scurrying along looked like little ants in the distance, and it was hard to believe that that had once been them.

"Where shall I stop the broom?" Emily asked, scanning around to see where the best place to land would be. Alison pointed towards the courtyard of Hogwarts, which didn't seem to be occupied by anyone of the sort. Emily swerved down and swiftly parked the broom down on the concrete of the Hogwarts courtyard.

"We made it!" Alison yelled happily, jumping off the broom and skipping happily "You actually did it!" Emily smiled proudly, as Alison flung her arms around her neck and hugged her tightly, Alison's hair getting caught in the sweat that was now dripping down Emily's face.

"Yeah" she said "Now let's hurry up into the Great Hall, or we'll miss the sorting"  
"I don't think so, dearies"

Emily and Alison gulped, as the familiarly shrilling voice of Argus Filch crept up behind them. His teeth were as yellow and wonky as ever, and Mrs Norris was purring happily at his feet.

"Mr Filch!" Alison said nervously "We were just-" Mr Filch sneered.  
"What are two little children like you doing back here?" he asked them "Why aren't you with the rest of your snot-nosed friends?" Emily gulped, and looked hopefully at Alison.

"We were just, giving our owls a bit of air" she lied "You know, before the sorting, and-"  
"Don't lie to me, I don't see any owls around here!" he snapped "What were you doing really? Planting dungbombs? Hexing the concrete? Don't think that I don't know every single thing you students get up to. Trust me, you will not get away with this lightly!"

"Okay, the truth is" Alison began, holding her hands up defensively "We missed the train, a-and so we flew her, a-and-"  
"A likely story!" Filch interrupted once again "You two are coming with me to Professor McGonagall. If you won't tell me the truth, you'll tell her"

Emily and Alison didn't move as Filch grabed their elbows forcefully, his sticky hands imprinting their shivering arms. He dragged them halfway across the courtyard.

"Ali, what are we gonna do!" Emily hissed, trying to avoid Filch hearing at all costs.

"I've got an idea" Alison told her, descretely tilting her head over to Emily's ear and whispering something. Emily's eyes looked skeptical, but she nodded reluctantly.

"On three" Alison whispered "One...Two...THREE!"

Emily and Alison digged Filch in his ribs either side, causing him to wince in pain and let go of their elbows.  
"RUN!" Alison yelled, sprinting down the corridors. Emily followed, not looking back at Filch.

"Come back!" he yelled "Come here, you bloody rugrats-" 

"There you are!" The familiar voice of Aria Montgomery came ringing down the Hogwarts hall, and was accompanied with Spencer and Hanna. They were dressed and ready in their house robes.

"Sorry we missed the sorting" Emily said to her, noticing that the little first year that had earlier been glued to Aria's side was now nowhere to be seen.

"It's okay" Aria said to her "But Mike got sorted into Gryffindor, so you two are gonna have to do a favour for me and look after him this year" Emily snorted.

"This one can barely look after herself" she said, pointing a thumb at Alison, who nodded in agreement. Her blonde hair was still messy and tangled from their journey.

"So where were you?" Spencer asked "We waited for you, but you never showed up-"  
"We got there just as the doors were closing" Emily lied "So we jumped in the end carriage and sat with Caleb Rivers" She could tell that the others didn't believe her.

"Right" Hanna said "Hey, if you go now you'll still be able to catch some of the feast. There was loads this year – the house elves really went all out"

"No thanks" Emily told her "We're plenty filled up on water" Alison rolled her eyes and playfully trod on Emily's toe.


	48. Mandrake Leaves

The next day, the girls got up and headed down to the Great Hall. Hanna was busy devouring a slice of buttered toast, and Spencer already seemed to be studying.

"What is there even to study?" Alison asked, flinging her bag down on the chair next to Spencer and sitting next to her. Spencer glared at her menacingly.

"I'm just reading all the books we got assigned for this year" she explained "You know, to get a head start" Hanna and Emily rolled their eyes, and Aria snorted.

"Okay, whatever" Alison laughed, tugging at a piece of bacon with her teeth "So, what lesson have we got first?" Aria dug into her bag and pulled something out.

"Transfiguration" she read from the piece of paper.

"That's alright" Hanna said, inbetween mouthfuls of toast "We got it all together?"  
"Yeah" Spencer confirmed, not even having to look at her timetable "And then we have Defence Against the Dark Arts, and then-"

"How do you have the brain capacity to even function?" Hanna interrupted her, now cutting up a pancake and shoving it into her mouth.

"And how do you have the stomach capacity to eat two breakfasts" Spencer shot back.

"Three, actually" Hanna said "I had cereal before you got here"  
The bell rang, as an indication for the girls to head off to their next lesson. Hanna had to be dragged away from her plate of pancakes, and then dragged all the way to the Transfiguration classroom.

However, when they arrived at their usual transfiguration class, McGonagall was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" Emily exclaimed, scanning the room. All she saw was a seemingly small tabby cat perched on a desk not too far off of McGonagall's own desk. She had seen this cat around Hogwarts a few times, and assumed that it must belong to McGonagall herself. Some of the other students now flowing into the classroom were whispering and muttering amongst themselves, presumably discussing Minerva McGonagall's whereabouts.

"Dunno" Hanna replied "Not like Minnie to be late for class" She and the other four girls sat down on their chosen desks, Aria sitting with Spencer, Emily sitting with Alison and Hanna sitting down on the seat next to Sean Ackard, who greeted her with a peck on the cheek.

It was right then that it happened. If any of them had blinked, they would have missed it. The cat that had previously been sat down on all fours on a table had jumped down, and now seemed to be growing in size. It took none less than 2 seconds for the cat to fully be transformed back into Professor McGonagall.

"I prefer Minerva, if you please Miss Marin" she said simply, adjusting her bottle-green hat and taking a seat at her own desk.

"Bloody hell!" A kid in the back said in awe.

"Thank you, Mr Santiago" McGonagall said to him, pushing her glasses back up her nose "And welcome back, students, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Most of the students were still staring at her in shock, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

"I wish you would all stop gaping at me" McGonagall chuckled, noticing the faces around the room "I thought that it would be an appropriate demonstration, bearing in mind what we are learning about in today's lesson. Would anyone like to take a guess as to what that may be?"

No one but Spencer raised their hand – this was hardly a surprise to anyone, even McGonagall.

"Yes, Miss Hastings" she called on Spencer, who slowly lowered her hand and cleared her throat.

"Animaguses" she said firmly.

"The technical term is Animagi" McGonagall answered "But very well done, Miss Hastings. 10 points to Ravenclaw" The Ravenclaw kids pumped their fists with pride, as Spencer beamed.

"Today, as Miss Hastings has just told us, we are going to be learning about Animagi" McGonagall continued, standing up from her desk and making her way to the front of the class "Does anybody know the correct definiton of the term 'Animagus'?" an olive skinned, raven haired Slytherin girl sitting at the back timidly raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Vanderwaal"

"An Animagus" the Slytherin girl began "Is a witch or wizard who has the ability to turn themselves into animals whenever they please, and turn back whenever they please" McGonagall beamed.

"In short, yes" she said "10 points to Slytherin"

"Booooo" Alison whispered, only loud enough for Emily to hear. Emily giggled.

"Now, as you can probably tell, I am a registered Animagus.. Animagi will have a specific marking on the fur, making it possible for others to identify them as the human form they take." Professor McGonagall continued explaining "There have only been 7 registered Animagi in the last century"

She emphasised the word 'registered'.

"Your Animagus form reflects your personality" she told them "For example, if you were an extremely cheeky person, your animagus might be something like a monkey or a hyena"

Emily snorted with laugher at the thought of a hyena cackling around England.

"Can anyone become an Animagus, Professor?" a Ravenclaw boy sitting at the back asked her, not bothering to raise his hand.

"Well, theoretically, yes" she answered "But it is an extremely long and difficult process, and most people do not have the patients to complete such a task. The initial steps of becoming an Animagus are long and tedious. First, one requires keeping a mandrake leaf in one's mouth for a month without taking it out under any circumstances-"  
"Not even for eating?" Hanna asked, without raising her hand.

"Not even for eating, Miss Marin" McGonagall replied "You children do not understand the fear of eating a salad with a mandrake leaf in your mouth. It is dreadful. Now, the second step requires a full moon. At the height of the full moon, one must spit the mandrake leaf into a vial visible to the moon's rays. Then, they must add one of their own hairs to the vial, and a silver teaspoon of dew that has not been touched by human feet for seven days"  
"Blimey" Spencer said, twirling her quill around her finger.

"The mixture must then be put in a quiet place where it cannot be disturbed" McGonagall continued to say "The next step is for the witch or wizard to wait for the next electrical storm, whenever that may be, and up until then recite a certain incantation every sat at sunrise and sunset"

"And I thought math was hard" a muggleborn Hufflepuff boy commented.

"When the electrical storm happens, the witch or wizard must move immediately to a large and secure place, recite the incantation one last time, and drink the potion. If you have completed all of the steps correctly, you will successfully transform into an Animagus" McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief, as though she had just successfully rapped 10 straight verses and was now recovering breath.

"Wow" Aria said, again, not raising her hand "You really did all that, Professor?" McGonagall nodded her head proudly.

"With the help of Albus Dumbledore, of course" she told the students "I admit, it was a very tricky process, but it was all worth the wait" She hopped back to her cat form, and then back again into human.

...

After McGonagall had gone through a powerpoint of all the different Animagi (registered and unregistered), the Hogwarts bell finally rang to indicate the end of first period.

"For homework, I would like you all to write me a 3 foot essay on the process of become an Animagus!" she called to the students, who were now packing their things into their bags and heading out of the transfiguration classroom and into 2nd period.

"Jesus, that was a lot to take in" Hanna said to the other girls, who had slung their bags over their shoulders and were now heading towards Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"It'd be really cool though" Emily shrugged, thinking about all the different possibilities of animal that a person could turn into. One thing that they had noticed was that Spencer was being very quiet, and her eyes were widened as though she was deep in thought.

"Spence?" Alison said, waving a hand in front of her eyes. Spencer didn't move or say anything, but continued to fiddle with her hands and stare down at the floor.

"What's up with her?" Aria asked, snapping a finger in front of Spencer's face. Spencer quickly grabbed Aria's wrist and raised her head.

"Come with me" she said absently, dragging Aria off to somewhere and encouraging the others to follow. Hanna, Emily, and Alison shrugged, as they followed Spencer and Aria down the halls of Hogwarts.

Spencer eventually let go of Aria's hand a little way down from the Herbology Greenhouse. It was a dark secluded area, and nobody was around.

"I think we should do it" Spencer said simply. The girls looked at one another in confusion.

"Do what?" Emily asked. Spencer took a deep breath.

"I think we should become Animagi"

The girls mouthes dropped open, as they were trying to tell whether Spencer was being serious or not.

"You think what now?" Alison said, her eyebrows drawn together in a line of discomfort.

"I think we should do it!" Spencer repeated "Come on, how cool would it be if we could all just turn into Animals whenever we pleased"

"Yeah, cool and illegal!" Hanna piped up. It was much unlike Hanna to be opposed to breaking rules, but this one she didn't seem to be agreeing with much.

"It's only illegal if someone finds out" Spencer said, slyly. "Besides, I heard about these group of kids 30 or so years ago who did this, and no one ever found out. Unfortunately, they're all dead now so it doesn't matter that people know. That could be us! We could do that!" The other four girls shot ginger looks at each other, sharing the same idea that Spencer Hastings had finally gone insane.

"But it's such a long process!" Aria argued "You heard what McGonagall said. You need mandrake leaves, and dew, and full moons, and-"  
"Stay there" Spencer interrupted, and quickly scurried off down the corridor. Aria was left hanging mid sentence, her mouth now open in disbelief.

"Is she being serious?" she asked. Hanna, Emily and Alison shrugged.

"It would be pretty cool, you must admit" Alison said "B-but I don't know if I could stand having to go through all that stuff. Like, where would we even get mandrake leaves from?"  
"Right here" Spencer said, popping up out of nowhere. In her hand, she held a small plastic container full of what looked to be leaves.

"Are those-?"  
"Yep" Spencer said proudly "Look, we've got the first step right here already! All we have to is hold these things in our mouths, and..."  
"Wait, slow down" Hanna interrupted her "Is this for real? Like are we actually doing this?" Spencer nodded frantically, and opened the plastic container.

"There's no time like the present!" she stated "Come on, guys. It'll be like a fun little project" The girls glanced from one another, back to Spencer, and then to the leaves. No one said anything for a while, as Spencer took a mandrake leaf out of the plastic container and held it in her hand.

"Fine"

It was Aria that had said it. Reluctantly, she took the mandrake leaf out of Spencers palm and held it in her hand.

"Han?" Spencer pleaded, offering her the mandrake leaf. Hanna rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this" she said eventually, taking the leaf out of Spencer's hand.

Now it was just Emily and Alison left, exchanging glances and trying to read each others faces.

"I'll do it if you do it" Alison said to her, unintentionally batting her eyelashes.

"I'll do it if YOU do it" Emily replied. Alison nodded.

"Then on 3" she said to her, picking up two mandrake leaves and handing one to Emily.

"One...two...three"

The five 3rd year girls, all at once, gingerly put a mandrake leaf in their mouthes and rested it under their tongues. And that, is where it all started.


	49. A Murder Dog

"How I've managed to keep this damned leaf in my mouth for a week now, I'll never know" Alison spluttered, heading up the stairs to what they were told was the 'Divination tower'.

"Neither will I" Emily agreed "I'll just be glad when this months over and the full moon comes and we can get on with all that potion crap" Emily was starting to struggle walking up the stairs, and was now grabbing onto Alison's elbow for physical support.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Alison said.

"What do you mean?" Emily panted in reply, now wiping sweat off of her forehead.

"This whole Animagus thing" Alison said "I mean, sure, it's all fun and games until someone gets caught-"  
"Well we don't even know if it'll work" Emily assured her "And even if it does, what harm can it do?"  
"Well have you really thought about it?" Alison asked, struggling to keep the mandrake leaf underneath her tongue and making sure she wasn't moving her mouth much. "Like, this isn't just some after school project that Spencer wants us to do, this is really transforming our bodies into animals! It's illegal!"  
"Illegal if we get caught" Emily reminded her, and repeating Spencer Hastings words.

"Well, who knows what we might turn into anyway?" Alison said to her "Supposing you turn around and turn into a giant fucking killer whale, and then suddenly you can't breathe and you die. Or what if you turn into a bug and someone steps on you. It's fucking dangerous!"

"Try not to talk too much" Emily replied "The more time you spend flapping your mouth, the more likely the leaf is too fall out and then we'll have to start this bloody thing all over again" Alison nodded in agreement, as she struggled to pull herself what felt like a million stairs. It was their first Divination lesson ever, and from what they had heard from the older students, Professor Trelawney was a bit of a strange ones as teachers come.

"How much further?" Alison gasped, feeling a slight sweat break out in her forehead.

"I think I can see it" Emily told her. Alison smiled in relief and proceeded to haul herself up the rest of the stairs.

When the girls arrived in Professor Trelawney's classroom, it was hardly as they had expected it to be. It looked less like a classroom, and more like a cosy coffee shop. There were armchairs and beanbags scattered across the floor, and the wallpaper was flowery and homey. The students that were already there were snuggled up in the beanbags and armchairs. There were tables and chairs over the other side of the room, that looked a lot like the tables and chairs that you would find in a cafe.

"Welcome!" A fuzzy haired woman shouted suddenly, making Emily and Alison jump slightly. Professor Trelawney was a skinny woman with dirty blonde hair, which she wore in curles down her back. She had small spectacles perched upon her nose, and seemed to push them further up her face every 7 seconds or so. "Please, do sit!"  
Emily and Alison glanced at each other skeptically, and eventually sat down on the floor with their backs leaning up against and tatty leather arm chair.

"Welcome, students, welcome!" Trelawney greeted again, which was followed by a murmering of 'hi' from the small crowd of students on the floor "My name is Professor Trelawney, and welcome to Divination!" No one said anything back, as nobody looked like they wanted to be here at all.

"The art of Divination and foreseeing the future is a gift you are either born with, or not" she continued to say "I, myself, am a distant relative of a Seer, so naturally the gift just comes to me!"

"Bet she's a fraud" Alison whispered to Emily. Emily nodded in agreement.

"So today, we are going to start off by reading each others tea leaves and seeing if we can make out any sort of shape amongst them. Don't worry if you don't understand what it means, we are just making out shapes today. If I may ask you all to partner up!" Alison instantly reached for Emily's hand, and was not surprised when she found that Emily had done the same thing.

...

"Is anyone finding anything, children?" Professor Trelawney asked the class, once every pair had sat down at a little cafe table. The light was reflecting psychotically on her frizzy blonde hair, and she looked even more strange than she had when the girls had walked in

"I think I see a starfish!" a Ravenclaw girl shouted from the back of the classroom, and her friend looked at her with much disgust. Professor Trelawney, on the other hand, ran over to her with a look of delight about her face, and peered into the teacup.

"Indeed, indeed!" she exclaimed "This means a bright future for your friend, my dear" The Ravenclaw girl beamed at her friend, who had managed to form a smile.

"Hear that, you've got a bright future, Jenna!" the girl said to her friend.

"If you say so" the girl called Jenna replied, peering curiously into her own tea leaves.

"Indeed, Jenna!" Professor Trelawney said dreamily, as though she was not really in the room at all "Your friend has the eye!" Jenna rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

Emily and Alison were both hopelessly staring at each others tea leaves, trying to make out shapes.

"See anything yet?" Emily asked Alison, as she carefully examined the pile of leaves in Emily's cup.

"Not really" Alison replied "It just looks like a load of soggy old tea leaves. I mean, I thought I saw a balloon in there a minute ago, but then it kinda went"

Emily continued to peer in Alison's teacup, but still couldn't make out any sort of shape.

"This whole thing's a load of bull" Alison said, folding her arms crossly "I wish I'd taken Arithmancy now-"  
"Wait, hang on"

Alison curiously stopped glaring hopelessly at Emily's pile of wet tea leaves, and peered over to her own tea cup which Emily was now staring at widely.

"What is it?" she asked, not knowing what the fuss had been about. It still looked like a pile of soggy tea leaves to her.

"Don't you see it?" Emily said, pointing at the tea leaves. Alison stuck out her bottom lip, and shook her head.

"All I see is a load of soggy leaves" she told her "If that means I'm gonna grow up and be some sort of tea-brewer, then see ya later-"  
"No, look!" Emily interrupted, her voice now hushed "It's a dog, see? Don't you see it?" Alison continued to shake her head, and twisted her head at all different angles in attempt to see this dog.

"You have seen something?" Professor Trelawney said, as she came swooping over to Emily and Alison, her long flowy curtain like cape dragging against the floor.

"Yeah" Emily said, pointing at the cup "Look"

Professor Trelawney proceeded to adjust her spectacles and peer in to Alison's teacup. She almost immediately jerked her head away from the cup, and her face turned a pearly white colour.

"This is your cup, my dear?" she choked, raising her head to look at Alison.

"Uh, yeah?" Alison replied, not quite knowing what was going on. Trelawney gasped.

"Child, you are in grave danger!" she suddenly said, her voice raising and catching the attention of everyone in the room. Alison looked around skeptically.

"Excuse me?" she said to Professor Trelawney. The teached sniffed, and her fingers rattled against the rim of her glasses.

"My child, you have, the Grim!"

A few of the students gasped and shot worried looks in Alison's direction. They started mumbling and pointing, and one girl even fainted. Alison, however, had no clue what was going on.

"The what?" she said, raising more gasps in the room. Professor Trelawney forcepully held onto Alison's shoulders, and Alison could feel her fingers shaking.

"The Grim!" she repeated in an even more dramatic voice than she had the first time "The death omen. Child, you are in grave danger!"  
"The death omen?" Emily piped up, shifted nervously in her seat.

"Oh come on, surely you don't believe that a few wet leaves in a cup is the reason I'm going to die" Alison argued, blowing a raspberry and waving her hand coolly.

"Ignore at your own peril!" said Trelawney's shrilling voice "But I must warn you, my child. Not a single person has laid eyes upon the Grim and lived to tell the tale!"

"Yeah, right, whatever" Alison scoffed "How many kids have you come across that've had 'the Grim' before?" Trelawney had to think for a moment.

"Only one" she admitted, stroking her chin.

"And is that kid still alive?" Alison asked.

"Well, yes, but-"  
"I rest my case" Alison said, snapping her Divination book shut and hauling it in her bag. Surely enough, the bell rang soon after. The kids picked up their belongings, and headed down the stairs of the Divination tower.

"If it helps" Emily started saying, as she struggled to keep up with Alison down the stairs "I thought it looked more like an Alsation"

...

"I always heard that woman was a fraud" Spencer said, cutting into a sausage and taking a bite.

"I know, right?" Alison agreed, shoving fries into her mouth"I mean, surely she can't believe that that dog in the cup actually meant something towards my life!" Hanna and Aria nodded in agreement.

"Maybe it's something else" Emily suddenly said. Spencer and Alison turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked. Emily shrugged, embarrassed.

"Well, the leaves were clearly shaped to form a dog" Emily continued to say "And things like that don't just happen, so maybe there is going to be some sort of significant dog in your future"

"I'll bare that in mind next time I want a pet, thanks Em" Alison rolled her eyes, leaving Emily feeling rather stupid. She quietly took a bite of her chicken leg, and continued with her Animagus essay.

"Careful, Han" Spencer whispered suddenly "Don't eat that too quickly. You might accidently do something to the mandrake leaf" Hanna angrily dropped her fork on her face, and pinched her lips.

"Oh how I miss the days of being able to eat a turkey burger without the fear of a FUCKING MADNRAKE LEAF FALLING OUT OF MY MOUTH" she yelled. Spencer forcefully clasped a hand over Hanna's mouth, causing her to cough and splutter a little.

"Keep your voice down" she hissed at her "Someone might hear you!" Hanna opened her mouth and bit Spencer's finger, leaving it slightly red and throbbing with pain.

"This whole thing better work" she said "This better bloody work, Spence, or I'm gonna kill you"

"It'll work if we do it properly!" Spencer whispered, leaning her head into the table.

"Whatever" Alison said, now cutting up a boiled carrot "I just really don't want a murder dog to jump out of nowhere and kill me"

"Maybe it was a good omen!" Emily suggested hopefully.  
"That's a contradiction of words, Em" Spencer pointed out "But she does have a point. The fact that you even saw something in the tea-cup at all could mean big things are about to happen".

"Like what, my family's about to invist in a wolf?" Alison laughed "Please" Emily shrugged her shoulders, and dug her fork into a pea.

"I still think it was an Alsatian" she said.


	50. A Single Word, A Single Moment

"Well that was a fucking dreadful potions lesson" Alison complained, as her and Emily headed out of Professor Slughorn's depressing classroom. Potions was their least favourite subject, as it was most people's. The fact that it was held in a dungeon didn't brighten the atmosphere at all.

"Have we ever have a good one?" Emily said back. It wasn't that they hated Slughorn – he was a nice man. But the way he taught and the things he taught completely bored the hell out of everyone.

"True" Alison said, shifting the mandrake leaf in her mouth slightly.

Suddenly, in their path, came a very cheerful and happy 6th year Gryffindor girl. Jasmine Saunders had dark brown hair and pale white skin, and Emily noticed that since the start of the year, she had started wearing more make-up than she did in the last. She stopped in front of Emily and Alison.

"Hey, Jasmine" Emily greeted her fellow Gryffindor player with a grin, as did Jasmine.

"Hey, Emily" she said with a wave "Hey Alison" Alison gave an awkward wave back "So, have you heard?"

"Heard what?" Emily asked, checking the time and realising if they didn't hurry up then they would be late to Divination.

"I got made Quidditch Team Captain!" Jasmine said excitedly.

"Oh, cool, well done!" Alison said to her, giving her a high five. Jasmine didn't stop grinning.

"I know!" she replied, clearly pleased with herself "So, I decided to switch positions from Chaser to Beater, because I've always wanted to try out Beating and you know, with Ezra gone and all-"  
"Oh yeah!" Emily suddenly realised. Their team's previous captain, Ezra Fitz, had left school.

"So that means that there's a position open for Chaser" Jasmine continued explaining "Trials are being held friday, be there!"

And without saying another word, Jasmine had hurried off, presumably to tell the next Gryffindor player about the Quidditch trials.

"I like her" Alison said "She's funny" The girls continued walking, but not too quickly, as Divination was probably their second least favourite subject.

"I really could do without these trials" Emily sighed "You know, with this leaf in my mouth and everything. Supposing I'm up in the air and I open my mouth and the wind blows it out?"

"Why are you opening your mouth to play Quidditch?" Alison wondered. Emily rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean" she said "I might ask her if I can skip them-"  
"No!" Alison's interruption was very loud and quick, and her hand nearly knocked Emily over.

"Ok..." Emily said skeptically. Alison took a breath, and settled her hands back down to her sides.

"I wanna try out for the team" she mumbled so quickly it was a struggle to hear.

"You what?" Emily laughed, hauling herself up the Divination tower yet again.

"Yeah, I don't know" Alison muttered "I thought I might try out". Emily smiled the widest smile she had smiled in forever, and the leaf nearly fell out of her mouth.

"That's brilliant!" she said "I can help you practise and stuff, and we can get you a decent broom, and-"  
"You're not mad?" Alison asked, confused. Emily scrunched her eyebrows in a line of confusion.

"Why would I be mad?" she questioned "I love for you to be on the team!" Alison shrugged.

"I don't know, Quidditch is like, your thing" she said, rubbing her palm against her elbow.

"I don't 'own' Quidditch" Emily chuckled "And even if I did, I'd still love for you to be on the team"

Alison smiled, and although unaware of it, blushed a little.

"Thanks" she said, proceeding to make her way up the Divination tower.

"So – er – no offence or anything, but how do you know how to ride a broom?" Emily asked quickly, as though she didn't want to offend her friend.

"Ever since that little 'incident' in first year, I' decided I should probably learn how to ride a broom, so I've been stealing Jason's and riding around the garden" Alison told her "I'm not brilliant or anything, not as good as you. But, I don't know, maybe with a bit of training I'll be good enough for the team or something" The Divination room was getting nearer and nearer, and the girls found themselves subconsciously slowing down.

"I'll help you train" Emily said firmly "The pitch'll be free this evening, and then we've got 3 more days 'til friday. We can go out there every night" Alison chuckled.  
"Damn, Em, you seem to be more excited about this than I am" she said. Emily blushed.

"S-sorry" she said "But like, really, with my training and my input on who gets the position, you're basically garunteed the position-"  
"Yeah alright, big head" Alison teased. They reached the Divination classroom, Professor Trlawney greeting them in her usual mental-manor. But one thing that got them both through that painful lesson, was the fact that they would later on be flying around the Quidditch pitch.

...

"Okay, so, I got this Cleansweep off of McGonagall, and she said we can use it whenever we like" She threw Alison the broom, and she coolly caught it in one hand.

"Thanks" Alison murmered.

"And I got the balls off of Jasmine" Emily continued, popping over a brown trunk and revealing an array of Quidditch balls. The golden snitch immediately started struggling against its chains.

The wind was blowing heavily tonight, and it was probably one of the worst nights that they could practice Quidditch on. Nonetheless, Alison was warming up on her broom, flying it a few feet in the air and swerving it around whenever she had to.

"So, basically, all you gotta do is get this through any one of the hoops without me defending it" she chucked a Quaffle at Alison, who caught it just about in her chest.

"Seems easy" she shrugged, throwing the ball up and down to 'get the right feel of it'.

Emily kicked off the ground on her Firebolt 3.0, and zoomed up towards the keeper posts. Alison followed, flying up to the other end of the pitch.

"Ready?" Emily called over the wind. Alison firmly pulled her goggles over her eyes, and nodded her head.

In an instant, she was zooming towards Emily with the Quaffle tucked under her arm. She made a quick swerve (as if to dodge a bludger) and was soon within meters of the posts. She threw the Quaffle towards the hoops...and it skimmed past.

"Crap" Alison cursed under her breath, and threw an invisible punch of defeat into the air.

"It's okay" Emily assured her "That was your first ever throw, and it really wasn't bad considering. Try again"

But she did try again, and every single time, Emily either saved it or it flew past the edges of the hoop. Although she wouldn't admit it, her hope in Alison making the team was decreasing more and more every time she threw the Quaffle.

"It's no good" Alison finally said, hovering next to Emily and folding her arms "I'm useless. I'll never make the damned team" Emily didn't want to disappoint her best friend, but she knew at this rate there was no way that Jasmine would even consider her as a player.

"It's fine" she lied "We've still got 3 more days of practice. Your flying technique was really good, it's just your accuracy you need to work on" Alison smirked.

"How come you can make even the shittiest of situations seem like they're fine?" she asked. Emily shrugged.

"I'm an optimist" she said "Now come on, let's keep going. The sun'll be down in a minute, and then there'll be no chance of a single one of those Quaffles even going anywhere near a hoop"

...

Emily and Alison had practised that day, right up until it was no longer possible to see anything on the pitch. They had also practised for the next three days in addition, and the hours were now drawing closer for Friday's trials. Alison had made a few goals, but on the whole, missed about 97% of the ones she threw. This meant that Emily was more nervous than anyone for these upcoming trials, as she wanted desperately for her friend to become a part of the team. She sat inbetween Hanna and Spencer in the Great Hall on Friday morning, desperately shovelling mouthfuls of toast into her mouth.

"If you don't stop eating, Em, then the house elves'll have to make more" Hanna warned her, as Emily's face was now practically burning red.

"No" she said firmly "I need all my energy for the Quidditch trials" Hanna raised an eyebrow.

"Okay first of all, you're already on the team – you're not even the one that they're trial-ing. Second of all, I've seen people eat less in Mukbangs and third of all, you're nerve-eating"

"Am not!" Emily argued, slopping a pile a jam onto her toast and shovelling it into her mouth.

"Yeah you are" Hanna told her "I know stress eating when I see it, my friend, and that is exactly what you're doing. Why the hell are you so nervous?" Emily sighed, and swallowed her last piece of toast.

"Alison's trying out for the team" she whispered.

"She's WHAT?" Emily clapped a hand over Hanna's mouth.

"Don't say it so loud, I'm not supposed to tell anyone!" she explained "She doesn't want anyone to know in case she doesn't make the team, because she'll just be embarassed" Hanna pushed Emily's greasy hand away from her mouth, and wiped her face in disgust.

"So?" she questioned, trying to say it in a hushed voice "What's so bad about that?". Emily slammed her knife against her place, and her temperature rose.

"Because she's terrible!" she hissed "Honestly, Han, you have no idea! I've been practising with her every night for the last 4 days, and she's barely got a single Quaffle through the hoop! She's my best friend and I love her, which is why I don't want to have to watch her make a fool of herself today, and go through her not making the team!"  
"How can you be so sure that she won't make the team?" Hanna asked, taking a sip of milk.

"Because she has like, a 3% accuracy rate!" Emily said. Hanna's eyes widened, and she put down her milk.

"Blimey" she snorted "I think I might need a bit of that toast too. Hand me a slice, would you."

Emily handed her a piece of toast, and they simultaneously took a massive bite, their eyes widening in utter fear.

...

"Right, so, who've we got?" Jasmine asked, readying her goggled and walking into the Quidditch pitch. Standing in a line and all proudly holding their brooms, were two 2nd year year boys, a 5th year girl, a couple of 4th year kids, and Alison Dilaurentis. Emily gulped, as her eyes met Alison's. She gave her a thumbs up, and Alison returned it hopefully.

"Awesome" Jasmine said. "Uhhh, Peterson and Jackson, let's have you up first"

The two 2nd year boys looked at each other excitedly, and hurried off behind Jasmine. Holden Strauss sat on his broom, hovering in front of the goal hoops.

Peterson and Jackson weren't terrible. The first shot, Peterson had almost hit Holden Straight in his head, but Holden managed to dodge it and consequently, the Quaffle went in. The two boys missed about 3 goals each, and both were extremely happy when Jasmine rewarded them with a 'Good job, you guys. We'll let you know the results tomorrow morning".

Next was the 5th year girl, who's name was Carly Peters. She managed to get all of the quaffles in but 2, and looked extremely pleased with herself when she managed to do a 360 mid air on her broom.

"She was good" Alison observed, as Carly hovered back down to the ground.

"Yeah" Emily agreed, who was unadmittedly more focused on Carly's silky blonde hair than her broom skills. Alison started fumbling with her hands, and her whole face turned white.

"I don't know if I can do this, Em" she managed to say. Emily jolted her eyes away from Carly.

"What do you mean?" she asked her, knowing exactly what she meant. She had been thinking the same thing.

"I mean, come on" Alison continued "I haven't exactly been doing great in training sessions, and I don't do well under pressure, and-"  
She was cut short by Emily's hand holding her own with a tight grip. Alison looked down at her and Emily's hand, and then up at her eyes.

"Ali" Emily said to her softly "You'll be fine. Just, do your best, and then at least you'll know that you gave it your all and there was no way you could've done better" Alison smiled.  
"Thanks, Em" she said softly.

"Alison Dilaurentis, you're up!" Jasmine Saunders called. Emily and Alison shared simultaneous gulps, as Alison let go of her hand and hopped onto her broom.

"I'm gonna fly up and watch from the sidelines" Emily told her "I'll be right there" Alison pulled her goggled tightly over her head, and kicked off from the ground.  
"Wish me luck" she breathed. Emily gave her a thumbs up and a wink.

"Good luck" she told her. Emily shook like a rattle as she mounted her broom – she was so nervous that she thought about turning around and running back to her dorm room.

"Okay, so, you'll have 10 shots!" Jasmine called "All you gotta do is get it through any one of these hoops, but try not to knock Holden out or anything. He's the only keeper we've got!"  
Alison nodded and flicked a hair out of her face.

"Right!" she called over the wind.

Emily hovered up level to the goal posts, and sat nervously watching Alison prepare herself. Holden Strauss was readying his broom nad adjusting his gloves and in the next second, Alison had the quaffle.

She started zooming towards the goal hoops, as she had done so many times in practice. The wind blew fiercly in her face, but her eyes were fixed on the goal hoops. Finally, when she was only a few meters away, Alison threw the Quaffle. It flew past the eyeline of the spectators, and towards Holden Strauss. Holden reached out his hand to the left...and the Quaffle skimmed past his fingers.

Alison had gotten a goal.

"YES!" Emily shouted, pumping the air with her fist. "FUCK YESSSS! SHE GOT IT IN!"

Alison was just as shocked as she was, as she looked over at Emily with her eyes wide in excitement.

"I scored!" she mouthed excitedly. Emily couldn't believe it. And her disbelief got even stronger, as Alison managed to score the 2nd Quaffle as well.

3rd Quaffle, Alison raced towards the hoop, and shot it clean in the middle through Holden's legs.

4th Quaffle, scored hoop on the far left

5th Quaffle, over Holden's head.

6th Quaffle, hoop on the far right

7th Quaffle, just over Holden's shoulder

8th Quaffle, score

9th Quaffle, score

Alison was on her last Quaffle now. Emily was so excited that she had had to perform a couple of 360's in the air. She was nervously biting down on her fingernails, as Jasmine threw her the 10th and final Quaffle. If she got this one in, then she would be on the team no question. Emily couldn't believe it. It was almost as if the person she was watching play now, and the person she had practised with, had been two completely different people.

"Last one!" Jasmine called. Alison nodded her head. She took a deep breath, and flew towards where Holden was eagerly waiting for her on his broom. The quaffle was beating against her armpits, and with all her might, Alison threw the last Quaffle.

Holden Struass reached out to the left, the Quaffle so near his hands. But then, much to everyone's surprise, he slipped a little on his broom, and the Quaffle pelted straight through the hoop.

"YES!" Alison shouted "I DID IT! I GOT ALL 10 IN"

Jasmine Saunders flew excitedly over to her, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Bloody hell, Dilaurentis, I haven't seen goal accuracy that high in years!" she boasted "Even I missed a couple when I did my chaser trials, you're like a flying legend!" Then she turned around and peered down to face the 4th year boys who were eagerly waiting to try out.

"GO HOME, KIDS!" she shouted down at them "THERE'S NO NEED TO EVEN TRY OUT ANYMORE, ALISON DILAURENTIS IS OUR NEW GRYFFINDOR CHASER!"  
The 4th year boys bowed their heads miserably and headed back to the castle, but Emily hardly cared. Her best friend had really made the Quidditch team, and it felt like a dream.

"You did it!" Emily shouted at her, hardly believing what had just happened.

"Yeah!" Alison shouted back.

And that's when time froze. Alison seemed to take her goggles off of her head in slow motion, and her blonde curls tumbled gracefully over her shoulders. Emily, suddenly for some reason, felt like she couldn't take her eyes off of her. As Alison revealed her light blue eyes from under the goggled, and batted them unintentionally in Emily's direction, Emily felt something inside of her that she hadn't felt since she had seen that Veela at the Quidditch world cup. She suddenly noticed the freckles on Alison's face, and how they were dotted about her nose. Her hair seemed to be glowing in the light of the morning, and her smile was something that Emily felt as though she had not noticed in the past. As she gave Emily a wink of victory, Emily could feel her stomach flip over. Emily gave a small wave back, and then muttered a single word under her breath.

" _Fuck_ "


	51. Seen a Ghost?

Emily had not had any more moments like these since the Quidditch trials. In fact, she thought that it would be safe to say that what had happened at the Quidditch trials had been a completely in the moment one time thought. It would never happen again.

The month in which the girls were supposed to be holding the mandrake leaves in their mouths had come to a sudden end, and the full moon was only hours away. Nobody was more excited than Spencer Hastings by this, as she had spent the whole month preparing the rest of the ingredients that they would need for the next step of their Animagus transfiguration.

"So tell me again, what exactly is it that we're doing next?" Hanna asked her, as the 5 girls quietly crept out of the Hogwarts castle and onto the grounds. The full moon could almost be seen in the sky, and they wanted to get an early start out before any teachers could catch them and tell them to come back inside. It was starting to get quite cold this time of year, so all of the girls were wrapped up warm in their hoodies. With the exception of Hanna, who was wearing Sean's hoodie.

"I've told you a hundred times" Spencer scoffed "It's quite simple really. We spit the mandrake leaves into an individual phial in the range of the moon's rays, add one of our own hairs to the phial and THEN a teaspoon of dew that has not been touched by human feet or seen sunlight for seven days-"

"Who the bloody hell thought of this spell" Alison muttered under her breath, quiet enough so that Spencer wouldn't hear it but the others would.

"And THEN" Spencer continued "We add the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth"

"Sorry, a what?" Emily interrupted "You can't tell me that you just had a couple of those lying around, surely-" Spencer laughed a little.

"I know a guy" was her simple reply, and she said nothing else "Anyway, that's it. Simple, isn't it really? And then all we have to do after that is put the phial into a dark and quiet place and chant ' _Amato Animo Animato Animagus'_ once at sunrise and once at sundown with the tips of our wands places over our hearts until the next electrical storm" Hanna nodded her head.

"Is that it?" she said sarcastically"And there's me thinking we would have to do something complicated. I wonder why not everyone's doing this!" Aria, Emily and Alison laughed.  
"Oh woud you just shut up" Spencer spat "I wish you were more into this, you know. You'll be thanking me when you can hop in and out of animal form whenever you like. I'll remember moments like these, you know"

"You do that"  
"Guys, shut up, the full moon's almost up!" Emily nudged Hanna and Spencer in the ribs and pointed up at the sky. Surely enough, the moon was slowly beginning to ascend from behind the hills, its pearly white glow blinding the five 3rd year girls.

"This is it!" Spencer said excitedly, digging into her bag and pulling out 5 medium sized phials. She handed one to each of the girls.

"Where'd you get these from?" Hanna asked, examining the phial.

"There's no time!" Spencer shouted over the wind "If we don't do it now, we'll miss our slot. Do you really want to wait a whole nother month!?" Hanna shook her head fiercly, and within seconds she had spat the soggy mandrake leaf into the glass phial.

"Aaaaah tastes like freedom" Alison said dreamily, after spitting her own mandrake leaf into a phial.

"I forgot what the bottom of my mouth tasted like!" Aria said, wiping saliva from her mouth.

"There's no time for this" Spencer said eagerly, reaching back into her miniature sized bag. She eventually pulled out a pair of miniature scissors, and chopped off a small hair from the end of her head.

"Quick!" she said to the others, handing Aria the scissors. She too put a hair in the phial of mandrake leaf and saliva, and handed it around the rest of the group.

"It's the dew next-" Hanna started saying, handing Spencer back the scissors.

"Yes I know that!" Spencer spat at her, pulling a bottle of strange looking liquid and a teaspoon out from her bag. She poured a spoonful into her phial, and then 4 more into the other girls phials.

...

The Death-head Hawk Moth chrysalises had been put in the phials, and Spencer had immediatey snatched them out of the other 4 girls hands, protectively shielding them under her robes.

"What are you gonna do with them now?" Aria asked, munching on a liquorice wand and enjoying the taste of eating something without a leaf swimming around under her tongue.

"They need to go in a dark and quiet place" Spencer explained "So I'm gonna put them in one of those abandoned bathrooms in the south corridors. No, Hanna, not the one with Moaning Myrtle in-"

"I didn't say anything!" Hanna interjected.

"Yes, well, you were thinking it" Spencer argued "So anyway, we're going to have to have some sort of alarm system to wake us up early in the mornings up until-"  
"Wait what!" Hanna interrupted, yet again "What are we getting up early for!" Spencer sighed and slapped her forehead in her hand.

"To chant the incantation!" she almost shouted of her "For gods sake Hanna, do you even listen? We have to chant the incantation every day at sunrise and sunset up until the next electrical storm!"  
"And whens that?" Hanna asked.

"May 23rd" Spencer told her, a little quieter than she had said the previous things. Hanna spat out her juice, that none of them had remembered her having when they walked down to the Howarts grounds.

"MAY 23RD!" she shouted, so loud that the inhabitants of Hogsmeade village could have heard her "May 23rd! That's like, that's like-" Hanna tried to do the calculations on her fingers.

"7 months" Aria squeaked quietly.

"7 MONTHS!" Hanna repeated "You honestly expect me to get myself up at bloody dawns crack every day for the next 7 months!" She tossed her juice cup aside.

"You don't have to do it, Han" Alison told her "But it'd be cool, don't you think? I mean, I don't know, think of all the possibilites of animals you could turn into" Hanna stopped.

"Huh" she said "I've never thought of that"  
"Actually" Spencer added "Nor have I. Not once did I think about what animal I might turn into, or what I'd want to turn into. What if I get something really awful, like a bluebottle fly or something?"

Without meaning to, the girls all sat down in a circle at the same time.

"I think I'd want to be a bird" Aria said quietly "I think it'd be cool to fly around the grounds and stuff like that. Plus I'd be able to sleep in trees, and I've always wanted to do that"  
Nobody questioned this.  
"I think I'd like to be a cat or something, like McGonagall" Alison said, tracing the outline of a cat in the dusty dirt underneath them.

"Cats are hot" Emily said, without meaning to. The other girls shot her a strange look.

"'Cats are hot?'" Spencer repeated with a laugh. Emily turned red.

"You know what I meant!" she insisted, folding her arms "You know, how they slink around and all that and...I don't know whatever" She decided to stop talking.  
"Yeah, cats are hot" Hanna said mockingly "But have you seen dogs? Dogs are fricking smoking!"  
"Oh, yeah" Alison teased "Absolutely. And don't get me started on hamsters, like holy fuck!" Aria and Spencer laughed.

"Although saying that, I have come across a gorgeous Guinea Pig a few times in my travels" Spencer added, Aria now bursting into fits of laughter on the floor.

"Shut uuuup!" Emily said, silently giggling and burying her head into her hoodie.

It was getting cold outside now, and the girls realized that they really ought to be going back up into the castle.

"I guess we'd better get back to our dorms before Filch has a stroke" Spencer said, hoisting herself up onto her feet and pulling Aria up by her hands.

"Can you imagine" Alison laughed "5 kids in the same night. It'll be like his birthday come early!"

"I wonder if he even celebrates his birthday" Hanna said absently "And for all the teachers, for that matter. Do you think they have little staff birthday parties or what?" Spencer rolled her eyes.

"They are people, Han" she told her "I'm sure they celebrate their birthdays however they want to" Hanna stuck out her bottom lip and nuzzled her face into the hem of the hoodie she was wearing.

"New hoodie?" Alison asked her, realising that she had never seen Hanna wear this before.

"No" Hanna said proudly with a slight blush "It's Seans"

This comment was followed by a simultaneous wave of 'OooOoOOoh's.

"Does it smell like him?" Aria asked dreamily, budging up next to Hanna in an attempt to get a whiff of Sean's hoodie. Hanna nodded her head.

"Yeah" she said "It's the coziest thing in the world" Spencer didn't seem to understand what was happening.

"Why would he give you his hoodie?" she asked her with a skeptical look.

"Oh come on Spence" Hanna said back "Everyone knows that wearing each other's hoodies are the international symbol of relationships".

Alison stopped dead in her tracks, and looked as though she had seen a ghost. The rest of the girls hadn't realised this, until they turned around and Alison was still 10 feet behind them staring strangely into the distance.

"Ali?" Emily called "You okay?" Alison glanced at her and swallowed.

"Y-yeah" she squeaked "I just – er – nevermind" She shook her head out of her gaze and hurridly caught back up to the rest of the girls.

"What was that about?" Emily asked her with a laugh "Seen a ghost?". Alison gulped.

"Something like that" she replied.


	52. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Alison had been acting strange since the night of the 'Death Moths' as Hanna was now referring to it (people gave them strange looks whenever they discussed it in the corridors), and no one really knew why. She had been spending a lot of time in the library and away from her friends, which was a very un-Alison thing to do. But worst of all, she was being distant. Not so distant that she was turning cold, just a bit strange. As if she wasn't quite there. It was almost as if she was constantly nervous and scared, and the girls were starting to come to the conclusion that she really had seen a ghost.

"Okay, but, there are ghosts everywhere in Hogwarts. Why would she be so freaked out from seeing one?" Aria questioned. Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Obviously she hasn't 'seen a ghost'" she told her "It's just like a figure of speech, for when you've seen something that freaks you out. People don't mean it literally"  
"Yeah well not all 'people' go to Hogwarts" Aria scowled back, but her scowling was quickly interrupted by Hanna Marin shoving a first year boy out of her path and bounding over to the girls table. The first year boy looked frightened as he picked his books back up and continued walking.

"Jesus christ, Hanna" Spencer said to her as she excitedly jumped onto the chair next to Emily.

"Sorry, sorry!" she said to them, and then to the first year boy "I'm just so excited, aren't you? The day has finally come!" Emily, Aria and Spencer shot each other looks of confusion.

"What day?" Emily asked, taking a bite of her buttered toast. Hanna slapped her.

"You're telling me you forgot?" she yelled in discomfort "How can you forget! My whole life's been building up to this moment, and now its finally here, and you forget?"  
Spencer shifted a smirk.

"What's happening, Han?" Aria asked with a quiet voice, not wanting to aggrovate the mad Hanna. Hanna rolled her eyes and slapped her forehead.

"Our first trip to Hogsmeade, of course!" she threw her hands wildly into the air, knocking the piece of toast out of Emily's hand.

"Is that all?" Emily asked, angrily grabbing at another piece of toast.

"Actually, I think my parents might have taken me and Melissa to Hogsmeade when I was little" Spencer added. Hanna flicked a tomato at her.

"I'm sorry, Spencer Hastings, did I ask for your bloody opinion?" she said "I've been waiting to go to Hogsmeade for years, and I will not have you and your bloody arrogance ruin it for me!"

Spencer was quiet from then on.

...

"Remember, students, there will be no going to Hogsmeade if you do not have a signed permission slip on you!" Professor McGonagall reminded the students, who were now busy zipping up their coats and and jackets in the courtyard of Hogwarts. The 3rd years were gathered round some of the older students, who were sharing tales of all the exciting things you could buy at Zonko's and Honeydukes, and about the new store that had recently opened called 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.

"It's gonna be so awesome" Hanna was telling Emily excitedly, rubbing her hands together to keep them from freezing up "Where do you wanna go first?"  
Emily wasn't really listening. She was busy scanning the crowd of excited students for Alison Dilaurentis, who she realised she hadn't seen since the feast the previous night. She was starting to worry about her friend, and wondered what it was that was so important that she had had to skip breakfast three days in a row now.

"I-I don't know, Han" she replied simply "That joke shop sounds good"

"Which one?" Hanna asked "Because theirs Zonko's, but apparently that place is old hat ever since the Weasley's opened their new store in Hogsmeade. I hear they do love potions and all stuff like that-"  
"Why on earth would you need to buy a love potion, when you have a perfectly willing boyfriend at your side every second of the day?" Spencer interrupted, as naturally she couldn't help but over hear the conversation. Or, lack there of.

"You never know" Hanna shrugged, and something about her tone was a little unsettling.

"I think that is all, Mr Filch?" McGonagall turned to the schools caretaker for permission to escort the students to the village of Hogsmeade.

"Yes, I think s-"  
"Wait!"

Surely enough, it was Alison Dilaurentis, running wildly towards Professor McGonagall was a slip of paper in her hand. The Headmistress rolled her eyes.

"Might have known it'd be you" she told her, snatching the permission slip from her hands "Quickly, Miss Dilaurentis!"  
Alison ran down to where her four friends were standing, and it came as a shock to them. None of them had seen Alison since the day before.

"Ready?" Alison said simply, not even mentioning the fact that she had been distant of late.

"Yeah" Spencer replied, as the group of 3rd years followed Professor McGonagall to the village.

...

"Hey, you alright?" Emily couldn't help but ask her best friend, as the two walked awkwardly through Hogsmeade together. Hanna and Aria were busy in Zonko's and Spencer had found Toby Cavenaugh and they were heading off to some little tea shop on the corner.

The girls had already been to Honeydukes and bought themselves a years supply of sweets that none of them had even heard of before. They had then gone to 'The Three Broomsticks', and had managed to convince Aria to try a sip of Butterbeer. Emily thought she must be the only person in the entire wizarding world who didn't like Butterbeer, as she had immediately spat it onto the table.

The snow crunched aggressively beneath their feet as they walked,which was a good thing because it meant there wasn't really awkward silence. Still, Emily couldn't help but noticing that Alison still hadn't spoken a word to her since last night.

"Yeah" Alison replied a little too quickly "Why wouldn't I be?" Emily shrugged, truthfully not having a clue what was wrong with Alison right now.

"I don't know" she said "You've just been kinda strange, ever since-"  
"Ever since what?" Alison interjected, her voice raising a little and her footsteps slowing down.

"Since, you know" Emily's voice was now a whisper, as there were students walking by and they might give them funny looks if Emily started talking about 'Death Moths'. She spotted Hanna and Aria running out of Zonko's now, and towards them.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Alison lied, purposely turning away and shrugging her shoulders. Emily cut her eyes at her.

"Where next?" Hanna asked them excitedly. Both Emily and Alison shrugged, which instantly overshadowed Hanna's excitement.

"Weasley's!" Aria said excitedly, desperatly trying to brighten the new extremely dull spirit.

"Sounds good" Alison said, not really having an opinion on where they went next but didn't want to seem uninterested and distant (which she was).

"Hey, where's Spence?" Aria asked, scanning the village.

"Off with Toby" Emily explained, pointing towards the little pink tea shop, noticing a very pink in the face Spencer Hastings sitting in the window opposite an equally pink Toby Cavenaugh.

"We'll leave her" Hanna said "Cmonnn, I've been wanting to go to Weasley's ever since they opened down in Diagon Alley!" Aria followed her as she ran eagerly towards a large orange shop titled 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'

"Coming then?" Emily asked Alison, who had gone from looking bored to looking quite nervous.

"Y-yeah" Alison replied, catching up with Emily.

...

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was one of the greatest places Emily had ever seen. The inside was tall and orange, and there were stacks and stacks of wonderful products that no one had ever heard of piled up on the shelves. The place was jam-packed with students of Hogwarts and other members of the wizarding public, swarming around different things and admiring them. On the far side of the wall was a large lifesized painting of a young man, with firey red hair and a huge grin on his face. He was pulling silly faces at little children, who were pointing and laughing with glee. Aria instantly ran over to a group of girls, who were huddled round something that looked a bit like a giant pom-pom. It took Emily a white to realise that the pom-pom was alive and laughing and hopping about, as the girls were tickling its belly and making squeaky noises at it.

"Bloody hell" Hanna breathed, wiping a fake tear "It's beautiful" And within a second, she had wandered over to try some sort of nosebleed sweet.

That left just Emily and Alison, who still hadn't properly spoken since moth night. Emily kept glancing in Alison's direction, desperate to make eye contact and ask her what was wrong. She was just about to say something, when suddenly the unfamiliar face of a young man dressed in a bottle green dragon skin suit came bounding towards them.

"Why the long faces?" the ginger man said animatedly, bending down and darting his eyes back and forth from Emily to Alison. They both shrugged.

"Well don't be looking like that! I can't have grumpy children in my shop!"  
Emily looked up at the man, and suddenly saw a glimpse of familiary in his face.

"You're the man in the painting" she told him. The man's face suddenly fell and he pinched his lips.

"Actually – er – no" he told her "That's Fred, my twin. He, uh-"  
Emily realised what he was getting at and suddenly felt bad for bringing it up. Alison caught on, and unfolded her arms to look up at the man (who she noticed only had one ear).

"I'm sorry" Emily told him "I didn't mean to-"  
"It's fine, it's fine!" The man said, waving his hand "My own mother still gets me confused with him sometimes. She'll call me Fred when she asks me to pass her the potatoes, things like that. But I tell her, I'll say "I'm not Fred, I'm George! Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother-"" Something about that line seemed rehearsed, and Emily noticed a tear leaking out the man's eye.

"I'm s-sorry" Alison managed to say. The man shrugged.

"I'm George" the man told them, wiping the tear from his cheek "George Weasley"  
"Here we go" Emily heard Alison mutter under her breath, before she even said anything.

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Ginny Potter's brother!" She said excitedly. George Weasley nodded.

"Blimey, is she really that famous?" she asked her "Hard to picture her as a top quality Quidditch player married to the most famous guy in the wizarding world when we knew her when she was 2 years old and pooping on the garden gnomes" He forced a chuckle.  
She noticed that he had automatically said 'we'.

"We love your shop" Emily told him, which made him smile.

"Glad you like it" he told them "My brother Ron's currently watching over the one in Diagon Alley, and I thought I might as well wander round and make an appearence" Alison had suddenly 'woken up' and now seemed to be interested in what he was saying.

"There's a pretty face!" George said to her, mockingly pinching her cheek "What's got you all in a muddle, broken heart?"  
"Something like that"  
" _What the hell does that mean_?" Emily wondered.

"Well we've got all sorts of cures for that" George told her "Just over there, you'll find our wide range of love potions. Can make any boy fall in love with you at first sight for however long you want. 100% success rate" Alison shook her head.

"I'm alright, thanks" she told him bluntly "I – er – have to leave"

And just like that, she had run out the door. Emily stared dumbfoundedly at her as she pulled her coat hood over her head and ran through the blizard to a place called 'The Three Broomsticks'.

"Lordy, what's up with that one?" George asked Emily, who was now grinding her teeth.

"Couldn't tell you" she told him with a shrug. George stuck his bottom lip out in curiosity.

"Well, little one, if you need anything just let me know" he told Emily, patting her friendily on the back. Emily nodded absently, still watching Alison creep into the Three Broomsticks.  
"Y-yeah" she said to him "I will do"


End file.
